My family and I started watching through S.M. Davis' video series on anger a number of years back, which we stopped about half way through due to the numerous Biblical errors, lies, and scripture manipulation we were witnessing. I feel obligated to share this with people potentially impacted by his teachings, which aren’t all bad but we don’t eat the meat and spit out the bones (an unbiblical concept). There is dangerous error and Gods Word demands a testing mindset, and the indwelling Holy Spirit—discernment (Ac 17:11; 1 Th 5:21; Eph 5:11). Ignorance is not a bliss and disobedience is not showing love to God. Consider some of the errors from that series, and other.
1. Davis is a Jack Hyles guy, which is a huge red flag.
In one video he declares,
“One of the greatest preachers of the twentieth century is Mr. Jack Hyles" (How to Help a Man With His Anger, time 8:45).
This is no minor statement. Davis is not only endorsing a ravening immoral wolf dressed as a sheep to his audience and to all the people watching the video series, he is further exalting him to be one of the greatest. Not only is this exceedingly dangerous and foolish, it’s also very revealing. Davis is essentially giving his approval of a professing Christian and pastor (i.e. Hyles) who brutally perverted the gospel of Christ by which he has made millions of people two-fold children of hell; who was more a twisted pope than a pastor; a chronic adulterer who kept a mistress (his secretary, a deacons wife) his entire married life, about which he consistently lied; a great deceiver and perverter of God’s Word, horribly wresting Scripture; taught Christ was always human and it was Him as a human that forgave and not God; believed his good works helped his father in hell; taught fallen man is not human with a spirit; that it was good for Adam and Eve to sin; that all men are mental homosexuals and adulterers; prayed to the dead asking his dead mother to help and intercede on the big days when they would use extra salesmanship to manipulate more people into repeating the “sinner’s prayer;” etc.
I could go on about the book-length list of heresies and evil practices of this minister of Satan (Jack Hyles) who appeared as a messenger of light and minister of righteousness (2 Cor 11:12-15). He was certainly a promoter of a false gospel and thus accursed of God according to Gal 1:6-9. That means he was a false brother (Gal 2:4-5; 5:19-21). His legacy was that of an ungodly, immoral, and wicked false teacher (Matt 7:15-20), of which there is A LOT of evidence (besides this link to our report on Hyles see also here: The Hyles Effect- A Spreading Blight and Jack Hyles Exposé and a video: Jack Hyles and the IFB Cover Up Machine). Davis fully endorses what Hyles believed and practiced, since two cannot “walk together, except they be agreed” (Am 3:3). And he doesn’t just agree; he exalts him above all men. None of this info was unknown to Davis. Any man or church that endorses and approves of Jack Hyles should be marked and avoided (Rom 16:17-18).
2. Davis himself preaches the same manipulative easy-believism, no repentance, no Lordship of Christ, no change necessary, big numberism, perverted “gospel,” just like his hero Hyles.
Of course he would (Am 3:3) and Hyles isn’t the only purveyor of a false gospel Davis associates with. Davis personally told me there was 20+ people that “trusted Christ as Saviour” at an EBMC Church in Alberta when he preached there. According to the pastor of that EBMC church, this is not true. It is a numbers game, a hideous perversion of truth (incl. the unBiblical “salvation” language), for self-serving glory and not the Lord Jesus Christ, a major mark of the false teacher (Is 55:10-11; Rom 16:17-18; Phil 3:18-19).
Many examples of his perversion of the gospel are found in his material and sermons where the gospel/salvation is mentioned.
3. Davis teaches a lot of error and wrests a lot of scripture in the anger series and in other teachings.
In the third video on anger, he falsely claimed:
"Anger is never found to be good in men in the Bible."
This is categorically false and a blatant lie that lies against the Bible and against Christ, all in the name of fulfilling his unscriptural agenda of proving all anger is bad. King David was rather angry over sin (furious in fact) and it was good (2 Sam 12:5-6). The same for Moses:
“As soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount." (Ex 32:19).
God never disproves of anger that is right (Jn 7:24), even when it waxes hot. What about Jesus in the temple when He was very angry with the money changers and ran them out with a whip (Jn 2:12-16)? Or when "[Jesus] had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts" (Mk 3:5a)? More examples could be provided. According to Davis, the anger of the prophets and Jesus Himself wasn’t good, which means it was bad, and thus the further premise of being unscriptural. This would then mean Jesus was a sinner, like you and I. Error such as this is found throughout the anger series, which isn’t only false and unscriptural, its even blasphemous as we see here.
Another example of error is Davis claiming,
"childish behaviour is not sinful, it's just childish."
This is certainly not true and undermines the seriousness of sin. The Bible says "Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child" (Pr 22:15) and foolishness is sin, the product of fools which are lost sinners (Pr 12:23; 14:24; 19:3; 27:22; Mk. 7:22); yea even "the thought of foolishness is sin" (Pr 24:9). The same sermon also revealed the serious confusion produced when someone wilfully teaches error and lies; later he refers to childish behaviour as "the child's sinful nature.” He doesn’t even appear to be cognizant that it contradicts something he said only minutes prior.
In the following example he teaches error, blatantly lies about motives, and again contradicts himself, this time in the same breath. Upon an attempt to discredit the teaching of Eph 4:26, he says:
“The Greek verb tense on this word 'be ye angry and sin not' that little phrase right there, that Greek word is the most significant to me of any that I have ever found anywhere in all the Scriptures . . . Incidentally just a few months ago I talked to two different nationally known Greek scholars and confirmed what I am about to share with you."
NOT incidental at all! Notice he spoke to the “scholars” to "confirm what I am about to share with you" which contradicts the phone calls being "incidental.”
There is nothing incidental about intentionally and fervently calling two so-called “Greek scholars” to discredit Eph 4:26 as teaching certain anger is okay (a number of scripture confirms its not wrong). Notice also how he paves the path for his new definition; its verified since its based upon "two different greek scholars,” two apparently learned men above men who knew better than any lowly servant of Christ who simply believes and studies Gods Word. Talk about man-centred monstrosity! According to Davis,
“you have to listen very carefully to get this, it is very very significant.”
Rigggght. The prototypical words of a false teacher. And no one needs to go to the Greek to understand what Eph 4:26 is teaching!
4. Davis manipulates and twists Scripture to fit his own agenda.
We see that in the few examples already given, and many more could be provided. He does it throughout the anger series, corrupting much scripture such as Matt 5:22 (removes “without a cause”) and Eph 4:26. In other sermons, he corrupts Ex 34:7 to support his heresy of breaking family curses and praying for the dead (which by the way would’ve likely been the avenue to the EBMC Church, since the same error, theophostic heresy, is taught there through the unscriptural psychological counselling ministries such as Heart to Heart). He has a video where he teaches,
“Why Satan Wants the First Born.”
Try to find that one in scripture.
5. Davis teaches lies and heresy on sodomy and eunuchs.
He claims there is no such thing as homosexual and heterosexual, through misuse and abuse of scripture, and major confusion and mental gymnastics, based upon the heretical book "Born That Way After All," but not upon Scripture, which is full of doctrinal flaws and fails to address low testosterone levels in men, and is solely the fantasy of one man's delusion (Neither A Homosexual or a Heterosexual). He clearly doesn’t understand Matt 19:12 or what eunuch means, which has absolutely nothing to do with a lack of desire for either gender, as he falsely claims, or his claim there is no such thing as Sodomites, they are just eunuchs. How about Sodom and Gomorrah or Rom 1:26-32 or Lev 18:22?
Unbelievably, this book even teaches that pastors should bring in homosexuals and have them "interact with kids" (pp. 50-51) and that God allegedly creates people this way. The eunuch found in Scripture is one castrated either naturally through birth, by men, or willfully “for the kingdom of heaven's sake.” (Matt 19:12). This teaching of Davis is plain craziness and doctrines of devils and revealing of one who doesn’t understand Scripture but twists and manipulates it according to his own perverted philosophies. He speaks of “avoiding confusion” but he is the master of it. This psychological book actually promotes sodomy and I believe there is more here that meets the eye concerning both Nixon and Davis.
6. Davis embraces psychology and ungodly theophostic/inner healing counselling and false teachings on the devil.
Lots of psychoheresy in the book promoted by Davis, "Born That Way After All" (e.g. speaks of “conditions” and “diagnosis” of cross-dressing, pp 54-55).
Davis loves the unBiblical book Prayer of Jabez by the ravening heretic Bruce Wilkinson which teaches demonic formulaic mantra prayers and mysticism. This New Age spirituality book teaches a seriously perverted and bastardized “gospel” of personal empowerment. It teaches not how to submit to God, but how to be God. But SM Davis loves it, even producing a video based upon it.
He is also closely tied to the heretic and wolf Bill Gothard.
Davis embraces and propagates heresy on family curses and praying over the dead, demonstrating a serious lack of understanding of salvation. One sermon he appears to preach weekly is “Breaking Family Curses” which is is unscriptural and heretical, based upon wresting Ex 34:7. He speaks of praying at graves over the dead (such as family) for generational blessings and removal of generational curses, and to receive any left over blessings from his great x 5 grandfather (time 23:00–26:40, sermon audio). This is crazy heresy. At time 46:00 we hear him teaching humanism concerning God’s curse and makes absolutely no mention at all about the curse being lifted through personal salvation.
There is good reason for that; he likely doesn’t know what true salvation is (evident for lots of reasons, including his false gospel and association with wolves teaching false gospels).
The sin of adultery isn’t only tolerated but embraced, with half the church divorced and remarried (time 34:00-36:00). Noted also is his false humanistic gospel. He started the sermon describing the flooding of the alter by hundreds of people of a certain church, all because of a man’s testimony (time 1:15). And it’s actually not till minute 40 that the name of Jesus is mentioned for the first time. The sermon concludes (time 62:45) with the presentation of a false gospel of “damnable heresies” (2 Pet 2:1), and a call out to the congregation (which should be saved already!) to come and “ask Jesus into their heart,” elevator music playing in the background, making NO mention of repentance (ever), all easy-believism and perversion of God’s gospel, which is condemned in Gal 1:6-9, leaving Davis "accursed." In his video Bitterness he claims that “Bitterness . . . Gives ground to demonic powers” and “Shows you have the same root problem as the person who did you wrong” and “Feeds a curse coming down the generations” which “Causes you to reject God.” None of that is true. Not Eph 4 or any other scripture says anything to this effect. It’s blatant heresy spawned in the pit of hell. Davis also believes that Christians can be demon possessed, which is heresy.
7. Davis is a great compromiser, seen in large number of other ways.
Even in the simple fact he preached at a non-Baptist extremely compromised and even heretical neo-evangelical Mennonite church (EBMC) in 2017. Why would an IFB pastor preach in a neo-evangelical denomination that contradicts the IB’s (and the Bible largely for that matter), when he’s supposedly against neo-evangelicalism and denominations? Why would he preach in a church/denomination that does not embrace the KJV as Gods Word in English but uses any and all modern perversions, when he’s supposedly for the KJV and against modern perversions? Why would he preach in a church/denomination that embraces the false gospel and damnable heresy of losing salvation, when he embraces the eternal security of salvation? Why would he preach in a church/denomination that allows for any mode of “baptism,” does not re-baptize people that were wrongfully baptized or were baptized before their profession of faith, when he holds to immersion only believers baptism? Why would he preach in a church/denomination that embraces CCM, country and other rock music, when he is supposedly against that worldliness and ungodliness? Why would he preach in a church/denomination where modesty and gender distinctive clothing is not embraced, when he is supposedly for it? Why would he preach in a church/denomination that practices and celebrates ecumenicalism, when he is allegedly a separatist baptist and thus against it? Why would he preach in a church/denomination where “evangelical” heretics and wolves are entertained, quoted and embraced, when he as a separatist baptist is supposedly against such?
This is what we would refer to as serious confusion, compromise and man-centredness. It also reveals that the Bible is not his authority for all faith and practise, regardless of the lip service he gives to it. He must deny and disobey a large number of scripture to preach in a church such as this, and whatever happened to conviction? I think any so called “conviction” is addressed here already and I believe he preached there for selfish reasons and because he’s probably not that far off anyway. I wonder how many of these things he actually embraces himself, under the covert banner of independent Baptist?
I’ll conclude with that, which should suffice to reveal the dangers of S.M. Davis. Jesus warned,
“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” (Matt 7:15).
His false gospel on its own reflects his wolf-like status. The Bible doesn’t encourage us to yoke with known error and false doctrine and purveyors of such. Quite the opposite.
“And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.” (Eph 5:11).
The beliefs, teachings and practices of S.M. Davis are indeed “unfruitful works of darkness.” It is sinful to give heed to false teachers (2 Jn 1:9-11) whom we’re commanded to mark and avoid (Rom 16:17).
“He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.” (Pr 13:20).
Our attitude must be that of the apostle Paul, who said:
"For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ." (Gal 1:10)
Some of the Galatians had a serious problem with listening to and following after false teachers, likely induced by an unsaved estate, which is why Paul asked them twice:
"O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?" . . . "Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?" (Gal 3:1; 5:7).
“Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?” (Gal 4:16).