Dan Corner from Evangelical Outreach – A False Teacher

Dan Corner – A False Teacher with a Strange “Acid Test”

by David Servant

Dan Corner, who has a website dedicated primarily to his teaching against the doctrine of unconditional eternal security (or “once-saved-always-saved”), has bestowed upon me what he refers to as his “Skull and Crossbones Award,” granted to those whom he deems to be guilty of spiritually-deadly teaching. The exact words on his website are, “David Servant, license for immorality teacher, gets the Skull and Crossbones Award for saying King David didn’t lose his salvation with adultery and murder.”

Dan Corner believes that if a genuine Christian commits adultery or murder, he instantly “loses his salvation.” In fact, Dan Corner believes that if a genuine Christian commits the sin of lust, he instantly “loses his salvation.” If, however, in either case, the sinning Christian repents, he immediately “gets his salvation back.” So according to Dan Corner, one could potentially forfeit and then regain salvation thousands of times, even tens of thousands of times, during one’s lifespan.

Of course, if a Christian was to “lose his salvation,” that would mean that he would die spiritually and become a spiritual child of Satan, as there are no other alternatives to being either a spiritual child of God or a spiritual child of the devil. Such a person would also instantly forfeit his former forgiven state, as well as the indwelling Holy Spirit. And if he was to die before repenting, he would go to hell. All of these consequences would be part of “losing one’s salvation.”

So, according to Dan Corner’s theology, a person could faithfully serve the Lord all his life, but if he commits a single “salvation-forfeiting sin” in the last minute of his life, such as lust, he would be cast into hell for eternity. And, according to Dan Corner’s theology, one can be a child of God one second, and through an act of sin, become a child of Satan the next second. But, according to Corner’s theology, this transformation can be reversed the next second through repentance. Moreover, this cycle could be repeated thousands of times in a person’s life. A person could flip back and forth thousands of times from being a born again, Spirit-indwelt, child of God to a spiritually dead child of Satan, void of the Spirit.

Of course, this strange doctrine is not found in the Bible. If it were so easy to instantly die spiritually and instantly forfeit former forgiveness, the indwelling Holy Spirit, and sonship in Christ, don’t you think the New Testament authors would have warned of such a thing repeatedly? Can you think of a single scripture that supports such an idea? Yet this is exactly what Dan Corner believes and teaches, and he labels anyone who disagrees with him to be a dangerous false teacher, a wolf in sheep’s clothing, and one who is giving Christians “a license for immorality.”

Certainly the New Testament teaches that it is possible for a true Christian to forfeit his salvation, but it doesn’t occur as quickly and easily as Dan Corner would have us think, because God treats His children like a father, and He disciplines those whom He loves. He goes to great lengths to save us. Someone who loves you so much that He dies for you doesn’t let you go easily.

Believing his own doctrine, however, Dan Corner lives in terrible fear of losing his own salvation, which is why, as he personally told me, he goes through a list every night of possible sins that he might have committed that day to see if he needs to confess anything—lest he die during his sleep and go to hell forever.

Many years ago, I attempted to show Dan Corner the error of his unique doctrine—held only by himself and his wife—but to no avail. In fact, Dan Corner has recently written an article on his website titled “The Acid Test,” in which he promotes an alleged way that you can tell if a person is a false teacher who is “giving people license for immorality.” All you need to do, he says, is ask someone if King David lost his salvation when he committed adultery and murder. If the person responds, “No,” that is a sure indication that you are talking to a dangerous false teacher. Here is a direct quotation of the first three paragraphs of Dan Corners’ “Acid Test” article:

Our day is filled with religious deception, even from those who are allegedly teaching holiness. The truth is: the semantic trickery that many pastors/teachers/etc. have been using for years enables them, with ease, to ambiguously state something and thereby mislead others regarding their true doctrine on salvation, grace, sin, holiness, etc. The most effective way, therefore, to smoke out such a deceiver like that, is to bring up King David (and Peter). Unless you do, such a person can easily slip by unnoticed!

NOTE: From experience we have learned guilty parties like to hide and reluctantly, if ever, answer the acid test question about King David. There should be no hesitation in answering. The ACID TEST question to know a license for immorality is: “Did King David lose his salvation while in adultery and murder and BEFORE he repented — yes or no?” The Biblical answer is YES. David did lose his salvation. (Afterwards he got saved again.)

IF any person (even one who does believe salvation can be lost) says “no,” you can be SURE he is speaking for the devil and spreading a license to sin, even though he will surely deny it! This cannot be overemphasized. If he answers, “yes, if he wouldn’t have repented,” he is teaching that King David retained his salvation while in that wickedness and is also teaching a license for immorality. (A righteous person, who turns to evil, dies spiritually before they die physically—Lk. 15:24; James 5:19,20; etc.) Be alert. They can be tricky and highly deceptive!

There you have it. And the very best scriptural support that Dan Corner can offer for his strange doctrine is Luke 15:24 and James 5:19-20.

Luke 15:24 is a sentence from the Parable of the Prodigal Son in which the father says of his returned son, “This son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.”

Dan Corner thinks that because an imaginary father in an imaginary story makes an imaginary statement using a metaphorical expression about his son, saying that he was dead and came back to life (even though his son, of course, had never died), that is proof of his strange doctrine that Christians instantly “lose their salvation” if they commit certain sins, and that “a righteous person, who turns to evil, dies spiritually before they [sic] die physically.” Any Bible expositor who has even a rudimentary understanding of the rules that govern sound biblical interpretation would not make such obvious errors.

Does the prodigal’s father’s prior statement regarding his returned son, “Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and be merry,” prove that every time someone repents that God puts a robe, ring and sandals on him, and then kills a fattened calf? Of course not, because as everyone knows, the Parable of the Prodigal Son is a parable, and trying to extract specific doctrine from every sentence in a parable leads to foolish ideas that contradict the bulk of Scripture.

It is quite obvious, when it is read in context, that Jesus did not tell the Parable of the Prodigal Son to establish a doctrine that born again people can easily die spiritually or die spiritually at all for that matter. He told it to correct the attitudes of the Pharisees who were complaining that Jesus was eating with sinners (see Luke 15:2). The prodigal’s complaining older brother in Jesus’ parable represents that Pharisees, and the parable really ought to be called the “Parable of the Older Brother’s Ungracious Attitude,” because that is really what the parable is all about. It is ludicrous to take a metaphorical statement by the prodigal’s father and attempt to prove one’s pet doctrine from it.

Dan Corner’s other “proof text” is James 5:19-20: “My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth, and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death, and will cover a multitude of sins.”

These verses are very straightforward. “He who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death.” Does that prove that when a Christian sins, he instantly dies spiritually? No, it says nothing of the sort. Note that the verse does not read, “He who turns (present tense) a sinner from the error of his way saves (present tense) his soul from death.” Rather, the word “turns” is in the present tense and the two words “will save” are in the future tense. That is, he who, at the present time, turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death in the future. The death from which he is saved is surely the future “second death” when people are cast into the Lake of Fire (see Rev. 20:14; 21:8), as it is obvious that everyone, not just sinners, dies physically.

Jesus Himself warned about what happens in the future to the souls of the unrepentant: “And do not fear those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt. 10:28). Jesus was making reference to the “second death,” when the unsaved are cast bodily into the Lake of Fire.

Dan Corner makes the Bible say what it does not say. Is there a single place in Scripture that says something to affect, “When King David committed lust (or adultery or murder), he lost his salvation”? No, there is not. Yet if one states, “The Bible does not say that King David lost his salvation when he committed adultery and murder,” Dan Corner labels that person a dangerous false teacher! I’m one of them.

Interestingly, the Bible contains undeniable proof that David didn’t believe that God’s Holy Spirit departed from him after he committed his very grievous acts of sin, as he prayed in his prayer of repentance, “Do not cast me away from Thy presence, and do not take Thy Holy Spirit from me” (Ps. 51:11, emphasis added).

Although the Bible certainly does warn that a believer who persists in certain grievous sins, and who refuses to repent, and who hardens his heart against God’s discipline that would lead him to repentance, stands in danger of being cast into hell at death, it does not teach that Christians who commit certain sins instantly die spiritually, as well as instantly forfeit their forgiven state, the indwelling Holy Spirit and sonship in Christ. Dan Corner cannot produce a single scripture that substantiates his strange doctrine. Sadly, he has no biblical understanding of our Father God’s loving discipline, something that is repeatedly revealed in Scripture.

Dan Corner continues in his “Acid Test” article:

To say King David did NOT lose his salvation is to teach indirectly that a person previously saved can turn away from God to that degree, like he did, and remain saved. That, at least, allows for adultery and murder and salvation all at the same time, which is Biblically impossible (1 Cor. 6:9,10; Rev. 21:8; etc.). To say Peter didn’t lose his salvation when he disowned Jesus is to also say a Christian can disown Jesus 3 times and fall away yet retain his salvation. Again, that is not a Christian teaching (Mt. 10:33). That is a dangerous distortion of the Christian image.

Note the two scriptures that Dan Corner cites to prove that it is impossible to be saved once one has committed adultery or murder: 1 Cor. 6:9-10 and Rev. 21:8.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 reads: “Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God.”

Clearly, from reading the context, Paul wrote those words to warn his Christian readers from joining the unrighteous by becoming fornicators, adulterers, homosexuals, thieves, drunkards, and so on, lest they not inherit God’s kingdom. Obviously, however, inheriting or not inheriting God’s kingdom is something that occurs in the future. These scriptures emphatically do not prove that a Christian who commits any of these sins instantly dies spiritually and instantly forfeits former forgiveness, the indwelling Holy Spirit, and sonship.

Revelation 21:8, Dan Corner’s other proof-text, only proves his error again. It reads, “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” This passage indicates what happens to certain classes of sinners in the future. It says nothing about what instantly happens to Christians who might commit one of these sins. And it certainly doesn’t say that when they sin they instantly “lose their salvation,” die spiritually, forfeit former forgiveness, the indwelling Spirit, and sonship.

Furthermore, one must wonder what the point is regarding whether or not King David “lost his salvation” when in fact, if David lost it, he regained it so that he is now enjoying the blessings of God’s kingdom. Perhaps Dan Corner would say, “Because had David died before he repented, he would have gone to hell.” I would agree with that statement. But notice that God didn’t allow David to die before he repented. And he disciplined David to bring him to repentance. And David repented and was forgiven. And David is now in heaven. End of story.

Dan Corner would also have us believe that Peter instantly “lost his salvation” when he denied the Lord three times (and then regained his salvation moments later when he repented) because Jesus said, “Whoever shall deny Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 10:33). Does that prove that the instant a believer denies the Lord that Jesus instantly denies him before His Father, showing no mercy? That is an easy question to answer. Does Scripture record Jesus instantly denying Peter before the Father right after Peter denied Him three times? No! Jesus simply looked at Peter, saying nothing, and Peter wept bitterly. And within the context of the rest of the Bible, it is only safe to conclude that in Matthew 10:33, Jesus was warning about the time when every person will stand before God in judgment. At that time, Jesus will deny before His Father those who, without concern or repentance, have denied Him on earth.

Think about this: Dan Corner wants us to believe that Peter—who walked with Jesus faithfully for over three years, who left everything to serve and obey Him, who was one of Jesus’ closest three disciples, who defended Him in the Garden of Gethsemane—instantly, in a second, changed from a man who was beloved by Jesus to a man whom Jesus hated so much that had he died at that moment he would have been cast into hell without mercy or any consideration of his faith and former devotion when he, under intense pressure and a real threat of losing his life, three times denied that he knew Jesus. Is that the “long suffering,” “slow to anger” and merciful God who is revealed to us in the Bible? No! But that is the perverse portrait that Dan Corner paints of God.

Dan Corner declares that those, like me, who teach precisely what the Bible teaches, are giving Christians a “license to sin,” and he condemns all of us from his lofty perch. Yet Dan Corner teaches that Christians who sin and instantly lose their salvation can, within another instant, gain it back through repentance (as Peter allegedly did). So how is that not just as much a “license to sin”? What motivation does Dan Corner’s disciple have that other Christians, who believe the Bible, don’t have? Dan Corner’s disciples can sin all they want, just as long as they repent! And the most important thing is that they repent of any unrepented sins right before they die, because only then are there any significant consequences….just like in my theology, and in the theology of everyone else who reads the Bible.

Let’s imagine two Christians, one who has embraced Dan Corner’s strange theology and one who believes the Bible. Dan Corner’s disciple believes that if he commits certain grievous sins that he will instantly “lose his salvation,” die spiritually, become a spiritual child of Satan, and forfeit the indwelling Holy Spirit and sonship. He knows, however, that he can instantly regain what he lost if he repents. On the other hand, he doesn’t have the Holy Spirit inside him to lead him to repentance. But he has no fear of going to hell unless he dies in an unrepentant state.

The Bible-believing Christian, however, knows that if he commits certain grievous sins that God will begin to discipline him immediately through the indwelling Holy Spirit, who will continually convict him of his sin. If he does not repent, he knows that God will lovingly increase the degree of discipline in order to persuade him to repent (as he did with King David). That discipline could come in the form of sickness, or even premature death, as the Bible so clearly teaches:

For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. But if we judged ourselves rightly, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord in order that we may not be condemned along with the world (1 Cor. 11:30-32, emphasis added).

Note that the entire purpose to God’s discipline is to save the wayward Christian from being “condemned along with the world.” So even if a wayward Christian suffers premature death as a result of God’s discipline, he is not condemned in the end like those who were never followers of Jesus.

Of course, there is the real possibility that the wayward believer might harden his heart under God’s discipline and ultimately turn from the Lord. Such a person has no claim on the mercy of God or eternal life. Scripture warns against this very thing:

Take care, brethren, lest there should be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart, in falling away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end (Heb. 3:12-14, emphasis added).

So the Bible-believer understands the importance of keeping his heart soft before the Lord, which, of course, results in a holy life, as well as quick repentance when he stumbles into sin, for, as James taught, “We all stumble in many ways” (James 3:2).

And this brings up another point regarding Dan Corner’s “license for immorality” accusation. Dan Corner thinks that if Christians don’t believe his unique doctrine, they will have a “license for immorality,” and they will thus dive fearlessly into sin. He misses the fact that true Christians don’t want to sin because they are born again and love God, and no true Christian is looking for licenses to sin. One wonders who these Christians are whom Dan Corner is so concerned about, Christians who are wanting to sin with impunity. There are no such Christians, that is, true Christians. Certainly, true Christians do stumble into sin, but stumbling implies an unintentional fall. Christians are not rebels against God, as are the unsaved, who are practicing sin with no regard to God.

Dan Corner says that there are some instances in the Bible where one sin resulted in people instantly “losing their salvation.” He likes to point out the fact that God told Adam and Eve that they would die (spiritually) the day they ate the forbidden fruit (see Gen. 2:17), and that those who take the mark of the beast, committing that single sin, are guaranteed damnation (see Rev. 14:9-10).

First, just because there might be two instances in the Bible where a single sin resulted in spiritual death or guaranteed damnation does not mean that every or any other sin always results in instant spiritual death or guarantees damnation. For example, just because there is one instance of God judging sinners by opening the ground to swallow them alive doesn’t prove that Christians can expect the same treatment when they stumble into sin.

Second, Adam and Eve, who literally walked with God in the Garden of Eden, disobeyed the solitary commandment He gave them. Also note that when they ate the forbidden fruit, God disciplined them, but He didn’t end His relationship with them. He clothed them with animal skins, perhaps teaching them that “without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Heb. 9:22). That is a picture of the Father-God of the Bible, a God who stands in great contrast with Dan Corner’s God who ranks among the worst of all earthly fathers in regard to how they treat their children when they disobey.

And one who takes the mark of the beast effectively pledges his allegiance to the antichrist, which is equivalent to an outright rejection of Jesus. So of course that single sin guarantees damnation.

In conclusion, in his zeal to expose the fallacies of the popular false doctrine of unconditional eternal security, Dan Corner has overstepped Scriptural boundaries and violated very basic principles of sound Bible interpretation, and in so doing, greatly weakens his arguments against unconditional eternal security. Consequently, many people who might otherwise be persuaded that the doctrine of unconditional eternal security is false are provided with even more reason to cling to a false doctrine—thanks to Dan Corner’s unique fringe theology.

 


 

For further teaching on this subject, see David Servant’s article, As a Father.