Are the teachings of Witness Lee and the Local Church biblical?

Question: "Are the teachings of Witness Lee and the Local Church biblical?"

Answer: Witness Lee became the leader of the “Local Church,” also known as the "Lord's Recovery Movement," and the "Living Stream Ministry" using the credibility of Watchman Nee—his predecessor and a well-known missionary to China—for his teaching authority.

This is what Witness Lee has said in his own publications about Christians and Christianity: “We do not care for Christianity, we do not care for Christendom, we do not care for the Roman Catholic church, and we do not care for all the denominations, because in the Bible it says that the great Babylon is fallen. This is a declaration. Christianity is fallen, Christendom is fallen, Catholicism is fallen, and all the denominations are fallen. Hallelujah!”

Not only is this a ridiculous misuse of the term “Great Babylon” as used in the Bible, but God Himself has said that he would preserve His people, the followers of Christ (the church) throughout history. And yet, Witness Lee claims that God has failed in this promise, and Witness Lee responds to this blasphemous idea with a “Hallelujah!” Among the other things Witness Lee has said in his publications:

“To know God is not adequate. To know Christ is also not adequate. Even to know the church is not adequate. We must go on to know the churches which are local. If we are up-to-date in following the Lord, we will realize that today is the day of the local churches.” “Because we have been born of God, we have the life and nature of God, and in this sense we are God.”

“God’s ultimate goal is the New Jerusalem, and for this He became man. Our ultimate goal is also the New Jerusalem, and for this we must become God.”

These statements reveal the true source of the teachings. They are anti-biblical and satanic in nature. They embody the same lie Satan has been telling since the Garden of Eden: “You shall be as God” (Genesis 3:5). Any man or organization that claims to attain god status is retelling Satan’s lie. There is only one God: “For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords"), yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live” (1 Corinthians 8:5-6). (See also Isaiah 44:8, 45:5-6, 18).

Witness Lee’s teachings about God and man are truly blasphemous. Just as with other non-Christian cults, the "Local Church" teaches a diminished view of God and an elevated view of man, along with the practice of extra-biblical revelation and extra-biblical authority. The "Local Church" teaches that anyone not baptized in their church is destined for hell. The Bible, however, teaches that salvation is by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9), not by baptism into any church. Only those who reject Christ as the sole means of salvation will go to hell.

Additionally, the leaders of the "Local Church" have such an elevated view of themselves that they teach a doctrine which they call “coverage.” This doctrine states that all church members are completely subject to the church leaders in all aspects of life, including which schools to attend, which subjects to study, who they should marry, and how often they should or should not have sexual relations with their spouse. This doctrine further teaches that to disobey the instructions of a church leader—even if the instructions violate the teachings of Christ or the commandments of God—is a far worse sin than disregarding what God has said in the Bible. Also, they teach that any sin a church member commits while under the instruction of a "Local Church" leader keeps him/her “covered” from any guilt for their sin. This is typical of a mind-control cult, and in direct contradiction of the Bible, which clearly states that only the blood of Christ covers sin (Colossians 1:19-20).

The "Local Church" leaders place only one church in each city in which they are present and teach that they are the only people who are saved. These churches are referred to as “the local church” as an intentionally vague reference to avoid being recognized for the cult that they are. Their use of the phrase “the Lord’s recovery movement” has to do with their false claims to have discovered or recovered “new truth.” This claim completely contradicts the book of Revelation which states that anyone who claims to add “new revelation” to the Bible is under God’s curse (Revelation 22:19).

As wildly unbiblical as their teachings are, their practices are no less distorted. Early in the process of getting to know new church service attendees, the congregation practices what they call “love bombing.” Love bombing is the practice of overwhelming the new attendee with such a great degree of kindness from as many people as possible that these new attendees will disregard suspicious behaviors and requirements and begin to trust the congregation. Once trust has been established, the new attendees are required to develop a “sin list” of all the sins they have ever committed against others. This list is kept by the leaders, and if the new attendees should ever decide to leave, this “sin list” is used for blackmailing purposes to prevent defection. Other forms of threats and intimidation—also typical of cults—are used when the person’s sin list does not have significant blackmailing qualities.

Unfortunately, many people in our world today desire to be told that they are not accountable to an ultimate creator God, and that they themselves can become their own personal god. Witness Lee and the "Local Church" eagerly await to deceive such people. In response, we should be even more eager to share with them the truth of God’s Word. “For a time is will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

Recommended Resource: The Kingdom of the Cults, revised and updated edition.