Genesis 1:31 - Creation-Intent: God said it was very good!

Prosperity Gospel assumes that for every dollar given by a believer, God is obligated to give to that believer 100 times that monetary amount in return. As such by coincidence a person may find that they have irresponsibly given away savings or tuition money and find that they are now in the possession of inheritance money at the death of a relative. The first hurdle of logic-bending the believer of a prosperity gospel must make is to believe that God kills off people in order to bless others. Once this has been accomplished the next hurdle to jump is to either overlook, ignore, or keep waiting if the inheritance money is not specifically 100-times the original amount given.

This then leaves us to the fruits of such a supposed blessing.

If this is truly a blessing from God, particularly in the prosperity gospel, then this money would have to be secure in its nature. However if this money begins to fail, such as if it consists of stocks which “tank” because of a bad economy then surely this is evidence that this money was not a blessing from God. God does not give molding bread or rotting meat as a blessing. If such money is a blessing and yet it is failing with the economy, then either God has no ability to be faithful in his blessings, or this was never a blessing to begin with. Thus by such failing fruit is the nature of this money revealed to be no prosperity blessing at all.

This leads the believer to the third hurdle he or she must make. This is denial. Complete and utter denial of reality allows the believer to go on believing that his or her failing greed is in fact a product and cause of true spiritual faith. Only by such incredible denial can such a believer in the prosperity gospel overlook such greed and failing of their fruits.

What are you focused on and what kind of fruits does your faith produce? What do you place your faith in? Are you looking for true faith which blesses others, or do you seek a faith that pleases you in every way you desire?

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I was thinking about the way some people view inheritance money as a blessing from God, even so far as to see such money as a “hundred-fold blessing” (Mark 10:29-30) response to that which they gave to God. But if God has to kill off a person so that another may be blessed then how many people have to die for such blessings to occur? If this were the way God worked, which it clearly is NOT; I would not want to live in such a world. Such “blessings” are a mere product of human proceedings, a reminder of our mortality, and a verification of the loss we must endure. How sad it is when someone’s death becomes the source of monetary and spiritual happiness.

Blessings are found in the little things of daily life. Sometimes they may be big, but if you cant appreciate the many tiny blessings you find around you every day, how can you expect to receive bigger blessings? Do you need someone to die for you to be blessed with their money? Or will you find greater blessing in the smile of your child, in the arms of your loved one, in the gentle hands of our Creator?

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
“Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
(Mat 5:3-9 NAU)

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Problems contained in this book:

Rejection of Christianity as a whole – Because of a belief that Christianity as it has traditionally been practiced does not work for our emerging generations, the book suggests throwing out the whole of Christianity for something entirely new. The book fails to recognize that Christianity has been in a state of constant change in accordance with culture, and that to remain relevant the church must change over time. Today’s modernists were yesterday’s emerging leaders. Rather than dumping out the church as something outdated and irrelevant even to include the most fundamental core beliefs of the Christian faith as this book suggests, we should rather seek to adapt the church according to culture while retaining truth. The connection between practice and doctrine that this book seems to hold reflects a naive view of religion easily accepted and assimilated by the uneducated and those prone to heretical beliefs such as prosperity gospels.

Experience superior to Revelation – The book suggests that experience is superior to revelation, thus one can go have an experience of his own making and according to this book it holds greater authority than scripture. The error in this thinking is that it does not recognize the many possible origins of an experience. An experience may often be the making of one’s own imagination, psychological instabilities, Satan, or cultural influences. An experience for the sake of experience would be like going out into the woods and using every blade of grass as the needle of a compass. Simply because its needle like shape seems to point you in a direction does not mean that it is pointing you in the right direction.

Love without Justice – The book has an unbalanced view of God’s love and justice. By focusing solely on God’s love and diminishing his Justice, the shack creates a God who feels good to people who want to feel good about themselves without any moral obligations. It is a God that doesn’t truly love because he does not punish. We have all seen children who run amuck, controlling their parents, spoiled to the core, and then when life does not go as they want as they grow older, their parents wonder why they did not turn out any better. To raise up a child without punishment and correction is unhealthy, and perhaps like allowing your children to play on a freeway because you “love” them so much that you are not willing to say no to them about where they can or cannot play.

Unbiblical view of the Trinity and its nature – The shack presents a non-Trinitarian view, but rather a polytheist view of 3 separate entities. Such heretical views have always plagued the church and have been dealt with from the beginning of the church with the writing of the Nicene Creed in order to properly define the nature and personhood of the Trinity according to the words of Scripture. The Creed is written using the words of Scripture in order to accurately communicate this truth and was done so in the face of such heresies as would seek to separate and incorrectly present the nature of the Trinity as this book does so.

Heretical view of the Incarnation – John tells us the Word (that is Christ) became flesh. The incarnation is the event by which the person of the Trinity which is Jesus became Flesh by which He would take on the sins of the world and conquer death. Scripture is clear that the Father remained the Father, and the Holy Spirit remained the Spirit, being sent as our Great Helper after Christ’s ascension. While retaining these three separate roles the Trinity remained united 3 in one, yet clearly distinct in roles. The Shack however, in its failure to understand the nature of the Trinity and perhaps echoing the misunderstanding of so many who find its pages so appealing, presents the entire Trinity as becoming incarnate in Christ. “When we three spoke ourself into human existence as the Son of God, we became fully human. We also chose to embrace all the limitations that this entailed. Even though we have always been present in this universe, we now became flesh and blood” (98) The Father and the Spirit who are pure Spirit did not join Christ in the incarnation to become flesh and blood.

Patripassionism – The shack promotes the view of Patripassionism which is the view that the Father suffered with Christ. This not only contradicts various aspects of God such as His sovereignty and immutability. If the Father truly suffered with Christ on the Cross even displaying the wounds on the Father as this book suggests, then Christ would not have asked the Father why He had forsaken Him. This is clearly a work of errant imagination and fantasy.

Faith without Reason – In accordance with many heresies, particularly those of the prosperity nature, this book suggests the importance of faith over reason, and even without reason. This is undoubtedly how the heresy is born to begin with and it is certainly a tool of many heretical movements for the continuation and growth of its misleading ways. By removing reason from faith, one can lead and control many people down dark and irrational roads of nonsense and heresy. Yet Scripture very clearly unites faith with reason or wisdom. Paul is very consistent in coupling wisdom or knowledge to faith, because he knows one without the other leads to incorrect beliefs of the imaginations or self-righteous legalism based on extra-biblical decisions and rulings. When one practices faith without reason, they are led to believe anyone and anything even to the point that their faith no longer even resembles the words of Scripture.

As our culture becomes increasingly marked by anti-Christian-universalism and self-absorbed narcissism we will see more and more people who so desperately seek something to believe in being caught up in such faith-without-reason heresies which promise good feelings, minimal moral obligation, and selfish prosperity. It is no wonder why prosperity gospels and books such as the shack become best sellers in our selfish culture where everyone carries a sense of entitlement at everyone else’s expense. The blame for this heresy may not rest in those who are misled by it, and certainly not in those who have psychological instabilities that give them a propensity towards such beliefs that feed into their narcissism, their need for security through financial or spiritual promises, and their natural tendency to seek something for nothing, but rather with those who produce such books that take advantage of these people and mislead so many others.

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There are certain heresies which focus their faith on ritualism and poor theology. In particular one such type is the “health and wealth” or “prosperity” gospel. There are two theological heresies at the foundation of this belief:

1 - Human beings have the same “creation word power” as God to “speak things into being.”
2 - If we say the right prayer (Formula) and have enough faith (based on human effort and merit) God is thereby obligated (commanded and moved by man) to respond according to our desire.

The formulaic prayer might look as such with formulaic action and words:

(Action) Put your finger on the top vertebra or first bone of the spine and then speak this command:

(Words) ‘In Jesus name, I command the head and neck to move into position so that every vertebra and disc go into perfect alignment and be healed from top to bottom causing the pelvis to come back into perfect position under the head with the spine restored in correct position. Pain go in Jesus name.’ Thank you Jesus!!! I am Healed!!! I am Healed!!! I am Healed!!!

If you have ever heard or seen a prayer for healing similar to this prayer then you have been witness to heresy. It is a ritualistic and cultist belief that proper formulas thus obligate or command God to move according to your will. The underlying assumption is that human merit and formulaic action have the power to impose the human will upon God.

This of course results in a variety of destructive fruits:
- It leads people down a self-absorbed road of idolatry and heresy away from the true Lord and Creator of this earth.
- It produces doubt in those who desperately seek healing, yet are led to believe that the reason they are not healed is because they do not have enough faith or have not given enough money, time, or gifts.
- It makes a mockery of true faith and confuses the non-Christian world away from the truth of the gospel message.
- It produces further selfish immorality by emotionally unstable individuals who use their faith to justify their immorality as either the fault of others, as acceptable for their personal gain which is what God wants for them, or because God must have willed it.
- It causes people to focus on the material possession and wealth as the source, foundation, and proof of their faith.
- It causes people trapped by greed to continue to see themselves as poor despite having more than most people will ever have.

This is the result of such heresy. If you ever come to witness such a prayer, either confront it and seek to lead this person to the truth, or flee from it and pray guidance for this person that they may be returned to the truth. Whatever you do, recognize that it is founded in ritualism, human merit, and a diminished and even subservient view of God, and that such a prayer has no place in orthodox faith.

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What does your Jesus look like? Do you recognize the sovereign will of the Lord Jesus Christ, or is he your vending machine that you go to when you want something out of him? Is he your prosperity vending machine? Do you expect health, wealth, prosperity, status, or emotional comfort simply because you said the right prayer, gave enough money, or did the right things to earn it. Do you believe Jesus is obligated to give you what you want simply because you believe you have enough faith? Is your faith about you, or about the Sovereign Creator Lord Jesus Christ?

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Unbiblical grace is a cheap grace which seeks incorrect interpretations of the Bible in order to justify or excuse even the most improper behaviors and addictions. Cheap grace causes people to become users of God and to interpret scripture in narcissistic ways that support, enable and excuse their habits, helping them to feel good about themselves without ever taking true responsibility and ownership of their addictions. True repentance never takes place because cheap grace diminishes the sin to the level of a simple mistake that everyone does frequently and regularly.

One such example might be the misuse of the following scripture:

“No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)

This scripture tells us 3 things.

1 - There is no temptation that someone may suffer that is so utterly new that no one else in the world has suffered it.

• By “uncommon” the scripture means to say that what you have suffered, someone else has suffered, thereby nullifying any attempt to say “no one knows what I am going through, so there is no one who can help me avoid my temptations.”

2 - God does not tempt us beyond what we are capable to handle which means we have the ability and responsibility to avoid temptation.

• Because God wont tempt us beyond what we are capable, this means not only are we able to avoid a temptation, we have a responsibility to avoid it. This could be by not doing things which may place us in a situation of temptation, restricting our behaviors, changing our habits, and setting up boundaries. This also means that if we find ourselves in a situation of temptation and we succumb to it, that we are responsible for our actions because we did not do enough to prevent it, and we did not walk away from it once we found ourselves there.

3 - God will always provide a way out so that the person may avoid and escape the temptation

• No matter what the temptation is, God will provide a way out. It may be the ability to walk past certain establishments. It may be a back door through which to physically escape a temptation. It may be the friendship of someone you can call in times of temptation to keep you strong. It may be a different route to take home, or someone to go one a business trip with in order to keep you accountable. Whatever it is, God will provide a way out and we need to keep our eyes open.

The cheap grace interpretation of this verse however comes to the following conclusion:

1 - If there is no temptation that is uncommon to man then everyone must suffer the same temptation as I do and therefore it must not be so bad.

• The cheap grace understanding of the word “uncommon” is “normal,” or by crossing out the two negatives that “all temptations are common to all men.”

By interpreting this verse in this way, one attempts to make the scripture an excuse to justify a lack of self-control. Cheap grace ignores a person’s responsibility to avoid temptation and instead excuses his or her failure to avoid the temptation by rendering it as a common and simple mistake as if one might spill a glass of water which of course everyone does without thinking too much about it.

For example a married person might have a complete lack of self-control when it comes to friendships with the opposite sex. As such, this married person may regularly and consistently fall into emotionally and/or physically adulterous relationships year after year. Rather than recognizing that this level of adulterous self-control is abnormal, this person may come to the conclusion that he/she is not the only one who suffers this problem, or rather that everyone must also suffer such a lack of self-control and therefore it isnt really that bad of a problem. As such this person will continue to involve his/herself in extramarital relationships by which he/she seeks to fulfill the desires of their his/her heart, while thinking very little to avoid such relationships until it has become a fully adulterous relationship even by his/her own confession; that is until the next guy or girl comes around who will attract the desires of his/her heart.

The hope of cheap grace is to take even such an abhorrent infidelity and to excuse it rather than to call that person to be responsible for their own actions. Rather than seeking to avoid the temptation or to walk away from it when it comes, cheap grace allows the person to walk right into the sin, commit it, and then after it is done, believe that they only need to say “I’m sorry” yet one more time. The God of cheap grace is a vending machine of forgiveness for the continuing of their addictions. As such cheap grace never calls the person to be morally responsible or repentant for their sins.

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The prosperity gospel is a cheap ‘as seen on TV’ faith that takes advantage of people by promising to do so much at such a small cost. It is the abusive extreme of consumerism which feeds on the sense of entitlement and creed that our culture has bred into people who seek their hearts desires at no cost to themselves or even at the cost of others. Prosperity gospel promises health to those who desire it, and wealth to those who are unwilling to work for it. It even works on pride by proclaiming it is a faith that only the elite of the faithful can hold on to. It promises so much, for so very little.

But the truth is that it offers nothing of worth. It increases a sense of entitlement and greed. It produces judgment against those who do not receive healing miracles. It encourages selfish-theology, that understands all things as revolving around the desires of the person of faith. The sick are blamed for not having enough faith, because if they did then they wouldn’t be sick. People with psychological insecurity seek ever more to gain more money while never feeling they have enough. People of this faith may even have a wealth of assets while still proclaiming to others how very poor they are, even taking money from people who have less than they do. Children under such faith may grow up with a grossly unhealthy self-perception as well as a contrastingly arrogant and judgmental elitism towards others not of their faith. This faith is a heresy that destroys marriages, encourages narcissism, seduces the emotionally unstable, and takes advantage of the poor.

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Prosperity Gospel, also known as Health and Wealth gospel, or Word-Faith movement, is a cheap faith based on a lack of understanding and misuse of scripture, and an over indulgence on material desires for wealth and comfort. Even the most objective of literary critics can affirm that the beliefs of prosperity gospel in no way maintain hermeneutic or contextual consistency to the teachings actually found in the Bible. Rather the teachings of prosperity gospel seem more motivated by greed and the cultural context of Sci-Fi mysticism.

Certainly you may think “no one could give any credibility to a faith that begins to look like Star Trek or Star Wars.” Yet we see people everyday faithfully pouring their energy and finances into these heretical faiths. People follow whole heatedly, blinded by their desperation, even when these false teachers make claims about the Christian’s ability to heal the sick such as the following:

“When Christians heal “a force field of power comes out of you” and “the closer you are to the person, the more power they will feel and receive” (Charles and Frances Hunter, Handbook for Healing. Pg.91).” They also make claims that for every dollar you give, that you will receive 100 times that amount back in financial gain, and yet it seems the only people getting rich are the ones we see on TV.

I feel a deep hurt for those who have been seduced into this false faith through the sci-fi mysticism of such books. I have seen the rotten fruits of such teachings. It hurts the one who desperately dives into such heresy. But it also hurts those around that person. The teachings of this false faith creates an unhealthy sense of narcissistic arrogance, an elitist superiority evidenced by constant judgment of others particularly about the weakness of their faith, and emotional instability marked by a situational and often contradictory morality that allows the person to do whatever is necessary to obtain what they desire, such as deception, misleading, or slander. I hurt for these people, and I pray that someone of sound doctrine, wisdom and biblical faith will guide these people from the darkness of these lies, back to the truth of God.

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So many people are mislead by the promises of wealth and health of prosperity teachers. They claim that it is God’s will for all to be healthy and rich, and that any one who is sick or poor lacks real faith. This materialistic and selfishly motivated faith takes advantage of those who feel a desperate need for financial security and those who desire greater faith while lacking the capacity or interest in wisdom or knowledge. Yet the promises of wealth, comfort and health contradict the truth of scripture. As such, if one is to believe the prosperity gospel, then one must assume Jesus is a liar. However, if Jesus is the turth, the way, and the life, then we must see that prosperity gospel is heresy.

Jesus said these words to a wealthy young man who came to Christ seeking eternal life. The dialogue began like this:

“You lack one thing; go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” (Mark 10:21)

This man was rich, he had an abundance of wealth, but he lacked one thing. What one thing did he lack? Though he had kept all of the commandments, he had broken the first and let wealth was his idol. Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount that you cannot serve both God and money. This caused the man great sorrow, because he had grown so comfortable in his wealth that he could not let it go. The point is not that wealth is bad, but that it becomes bad when it gets in the way of faith. This is why Jesus then told his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” (Mark 10:23) Prosperity gospel makes wealth the object and hope of faith. The focus is removed form the hope of eternal salvation, security in the presence of God and the joy of godly service to others, and instead focuses on the superficial and materialistic hope of greed.

The prosperity gospel equates this treasure in heaven to be treasure on earth: “on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:10). Yet this is entirely out of context as the Lord’s prayer is concerning God’s will and the kingdom of heaven, not about our personal desire for wealth. Yet despite scriptural evidence against the teachings of prosperity gospel, these false teachers continue to preach to those who desire health and wealth, claiming that to question their teachings or to study scripture so as to discern any truth that contradicts their teachings is a display of lack of faith. This is a cultist method of keeping people ignorant from truth, from thinking for themselves, and motivated by guilt to stay pure to their false teachings.

Prosperity gospel selectively dissects and misrepresents scripture so as to promote its false teachings.

Jesus said:
“Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” (Mark 10:29-31)

Clearly the context of this verse has to do with heavenly reward. In this passage we see a message of salvation for eternal life, the praising of service (to be considered last), and perseverance through persecution. Yet persecution and intangible rewards that cannot be grabbed with both hands is contradictory to the prosperity gospel teaching. When they look at this passage they take the “hundredfold” and literally and selectively apply it to wealth. However, why is this hundredfold rule not applied to houses, mothers, or persecution? That is because it would make no sense in any context to desire 100 mothers, or 100 time the amount of persecution in a false teaching that promises health and wealth while teaching that discomfort is a result of sin and lack of faith.

Yet who could dare to look at Jesus on the cross and say that He lacked faith?

Who could say that Paul who had a thorn in his flesh and say lacked faith?

Who could look at the disciples who were poor, and who were martyred for their faith and say they lacked faith?

Wealth was a hindrance to believing the gospel, not a result of believing the gospel. Many, truly born again believers are not wealthy and yet no one would ever doubt their faith. There are many who live in third world countries and poor economies around the world, who are filled with greater faith than most and yet they will never see wealth or health that the prosperity teachers claim. Are we seeking treasures on earth, or treasures in heaven. Jesus told us to seek after treasure in heaven, the treasure of eternal life, being in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ! The prosperity gospel was foreign to Jesus Christ. If you receive the gift of salvation, you may never gain an abundance of wealth on earth, you may have bad health while on this earth, you may endure persecutions of every kind, but in the life to come, you will have riches beyond what you can imagine, you will not battle with suffering or disease, there will be no more persecution, for you will be worshiping Christ in his Presence for His glory!

When one takes a serious, contextually accurate and consistent look at scripture, the result is a message of salvation truth that sits in stark contrast to the false teachings of prosperity gospel. As such one must conclude that either prosperity gospel is true and that Jesus is a liar; or that Jesus is the Truth, the Way and the Life (John 14:6), and prosperity gospel is a heresy promoted by selfishly motivated persons seeking to take advantage of people for their own profit and gain.

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