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

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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