Understanding the Gospel: What is the Prosperity Gospel?

2 Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. 3 John 2 NKJV










 Have you ever heard of the prosperity gospel? Have you heard that label used to describe various ministers or ministries? The real question is do you know what the prosperity gospel or message actually is?   

 Traditional Christianity often assigns labels to church groups they don't like or organizations they disagree with. The heresy label abounds. What I'd like to do is clear away bias, and traditions and just look at the substance of what the prosperity gospel actually teaches and whether it's Biblically accurate or is indeed erroneous and false. My goal isn't to fight or accuse, I sat in prosperity gospel circles for ten years allow me to share what it actually is. 

 First, we need to establish that not every teaching about finances or healing is the prosperity gospel. There are Christians who deny healing is for today and believe that tongues are mere gibberish. So any church that prays for the sick and believes in the Gifts for today is dismissed as prosperity gospel preachers. We also must understand there is a difference between extremism and error. 

Don't become extreme in addressing extremes in the Church

 Believing that God is a good Father isn't extreme. If you believe God is good, that He doesn't send or ordain disease, disaster, death, and despair doesn't mean you ascribe to an extremist theology. But doesn't the prosperity gospel also teach nothing bad will ever happen if you have enough faith? Yes, some circles teach that. The differences are we know we live in a fallen world and that is why we see sickness and suffering abound. We don't say bad doesn't occur in this world, we are just saying God isn't responsible.

 Because God is a good Father, we can believe God for financial provision in times of need. We can believe God for healing when symptoms arise. Jesus is our hope and present help. This isn't extremism. So don't accept the extremist label bias tradition-bound believers try to label everyone with just because you trust Jesus for help in time of need.

What is the actual prosperity gospel then?

 The prosperity gospel is centered around seed faith. The prosperity gospel focuses more on wealth than any other subject. As for health, it teaches if you're sick it's your fault and you lack faith. In truth, this should be called the always healthy and wealthy seed faith gospel. 

 Let's thoroughly examine prosperity gospel teaching. This teaching starts with the tithe. It teaches you are supposed to give 10% of your gross earnings to your prosperity church.  Now tithing is just the beginning. It serves a dual purpose. In poker, you have to ante or buy into the game before you can bet. The tithe is the ante. See, according to the prosperity gospel, you haven't even given until you first tithe. The tithe isn't yours so you haven't given until you give your own money.

 So the tithe is first like an ante, funds you deposit so you can participate in the game if you will. The second purpose of the tithe is for protection. The tithe is owed to the Father so your stuff will be protected. It's literally a protection racket. If one had a car accident, the first thing many ask is were you paying your tithes? If not then it's your fault for not giving God His protection money. 

 Once you pay your tithe, then it's onto giving or sowing seeds. What's the difference? The truth is, an offering is what you give when you don't have a pressing need. When you are in need and give you are sowing a seed for your need to be met. You have a need, so you are basically bribing God to pay attention to you and bring to you the supply.

 When you give above the 10% the process of seedtime and harvest has begun. What you're to expect is a return or harvest on your giving. A 30, 60, or Hundredfold return is promised to you each time you sow in faith. What this looks like is this; Say you gross $1,800,  you owe God $180. Then you are to give above that to begin seedtime and harvest. You give say $50. You then are supposed to expect either,  $50 times 30fold return equals $1,500. $50 times 60fold equals $3,000. $50 times 100fold return equals $5,000. 

 This is the foundation of the prosperity gospel. Soon after this wasn't enough. Teachers of this view began teaching about giving into good soil, naming your seed, giving personal financial gifts to the minister, and giving unto the rich and not the poor, a concept called blessing the blessed, the first fruit offering. They also ascribe to a view that the wealth of the wicked will one day come into the Christian's hands.

 Allow me to briefly explain these aforementioned views. Giving into good soil means only giving to churches and ministries that teach you're supposed to be rich. Don't give into any other ministry or it won't produce a blessing. You're to not just sow a seed but name or target your seed. In other words, if you had a need for a new job, give and keep giving saying this seed is for me to harvest a new job. Again, bribing God to bless you, or buying your miracle. When Jesus was on Earth He never merchandised His anointing or healing or miracles. Peter never gave him a financial gift before He caused the miracle of the near-boat sinking catch of fish.

 The idea of giving money to the minister is rooted in the concept that if you sow money into him or her what giftings they have will show up in your life. Blessing the blessed is a concept rooted in greed. It uses a passage in Proverbs about giving to the poor, here, to show that there is not a rich return on giving to the poor. so "bless the blessed", or put money in rich people's pockets, they are "good ground" for sowing. The first fruit offering is a TV preacher gimmick wherein you give the first fruit of your increase. Meaning if the first time you made say $10,000 you would give an additional 10% as a first fruit offering. 

 The wealth of the wicked transferred to the just concept is a Graceless view. Jesus died on the Cross and purchased our redemption if we simply believe. He didn't die to get the lost person's wallet or checkbook. He wants people's hearts, not their paychecks or possessions. These basically sum up the entirety of the prosperity gospel tenets. 

 The prosperity message I've expounded has sadly turned into an almost lottery-like fantasy designed to remove money from the hands of gullible Christians. It preys on lower-income families. It makes lavish promises that one day they will become rich and will be able to drive a Lexus and take summer vacations in Paris if only they keep giving 12%, 17%, 20%, 30%, or more of their income to a local church or TV minister. 

extremes vs error

 What these concepts are, even though they are rooted in greed, are defined as extremes. They are taking Scripture and pushing them to extreme areas. They are pushing them out of bounds so to speak. The problem is any truth taken to extremes leads to error. Now, these extremes are an untruth. There is no Biblical precedent for someone giving God $100 and then receiving $10,000. These ministers take Luke 6:38, 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, Mark 4 and 10, and Galatians 6 and interpret them out of context and push them to extremes. As wrong as these extremes are they aren't the real error of the prosperity gospel. 

What is the real error of the prosperity gospel?

 Any truth taken to an extreme leads to error. Error and false teaching Biblically defined, is when false teachers deny the deity of Christ, deny the authority of the Scriptures, or change or alter the Gospel or salvation message. A gospel of works and performance is, therefore, an error and false teaching because it contradicts the Gospel of Grace.

 The real error of the prosperity gospel is they have turned the Gospel into a message of works, performance, and attempts to buy and earn the blessings and favor of God. If any benefit of salvation requires works or performance to receive then all benefits of salvation must be by works and that is bad news and that isn't the Gospel.

 The Prosperity gospel is a performance-driven, works-oriented gospel that condemns, hurts, and destroys. Marriages crumble and dissolve due to the stress and pressure of trying to manifest money. People walk away from God because they feel unworthy or that God lied to them. There is one passage that sums up this message.

There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death. Proverbs 16:25 NKJV

People are promised a harvest for giving much, and when it doesn't manifest soon, their eyes quit seeing the Savior and turn inwardly. They begin to search their heart for hidden sins or addictions. Search if they're harboring ill will, resentment or bitterness, or unforgiveness. They also search their heart to see if they're in faith or have allowed doubt and unbelief to corrupt their faith. Oh, wait you must be in fear they say to themselves, fear contaminates faith. So it must be fear of not receiving causing me not to receive. The excuses are endless and the peddlers of the prosperity gospel conveniently insulate themselves from anyone challenging them on their teaching by teaching it's up to your faithfulness and performance to receive.

 So instead of Jesus being your provider you and your perfect obedience, performance, faithfulness, sinlessness, and financial giving become your provider. When you tithe and give and don't see a return they say, "Well you gave with the wrong motive",  but they took your money regardless of your motive, and when they instructed you to tithe and give offerings they specifically stated if you give you will be blessed financially. 

 What has God actually promised to Christians in this life? God isn't saying for eternal salvation and receiving righteousness the Finished Work provided it, but for financial needs or receiving healing, you're on your own. In the Finished Work, He has given us wisdom and favor, and strength. He gives us the wisdom to manage our finances. He gives us the favor of finding jobs and better jobs and finding good bargains when we shop. He gives us the strength to work and be productive. What about the suffering and famine in many lands? That's why we take what blessing we have and become a blessing to the needy and unfortunate. We first must be blessed to be a blessing, and that isn't prosperity extremism. 

 In summation, the prosperity gospel is an extreme teaching that produces the error of works and performance-based faith. When people are promised by men that God will do something and it never happens condemnation overtakes them, and they wonder what's wrong with them. In the long term, people begin to blame God for lying to them and they walk away from God hurt, broken and bitter. That is the true fruit of the prosperity gospel. 

Image courtesy of digitalart at FreeDigitalPhotos.net 

A Mistaken Idea: "The Lord's Prayer" is a New Covenant Prayer.

13 making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do.” Mark 7:12 NKJV





 How often have you been in a meeting, a service of some kind, even a youth meeting and have heard the Lord's Prayer recited? How often have you recited it as some form of personal devotion or prayer? Have you seen this Prayer recited repeatedly as part of a Christian worship service?

 The Lord's Prayer refers to the words of Jesus in Matthew 6. He was teaching the Disciples to pray. Many have since coined the term the Lord's Prayer to describe His words. It is interesting to note that Jesus wasn't actually praying a prayer. It therefore really shouldn't be called the Lord's Prayer.

 Many have taken this passage in Matthew and mixed it with the New Covenant. They somehow are under the impression because Jesus gave us a model of prayer it must be for us in the New Covenant. Nothing could be further from the truth. To be frank, the Lord's Prayer is not a New Covenant prayer whatsoever.

 Let's look at the "Lord's Prayer";

 9 In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10  Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12  And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. 13 And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Matthew 6:9-13 NKJV

 The first thing I have noticed about this prayer is that Jesus was giving a model to pray, and His point was not to pray in vain repetitions as the heathen do. Yet, that is what so many do today. They turn this passage into a prayer that they just repeat over and over. To understand this passage, look at it in full context, here. 

 Jesus was simply giving a model of how to pray to the disciples. While we must acknowledge there are some hints of the New Covenant to come we must understand this is still not a New Covenant way to pray. The fact that Jesus refers to God as Father is a radical idea. The Israelites saw God as a harsh taskmaster very often. Jesus was revealing the Father's heart, God gave the Law with its rigid standards to prove to us we can't earn righteousness and that we need a Savior.

 So let's break this prayer down to show this is not applicable to us today. 
Our Father in Heaven. God is our Father, but He isn't just in Heaven today. By His indwelling Spirit within us, God abides in us.  He isn't just afar off somewhere in the distance. So often we see ourselves separated from God. We feel if we sin or miss it He is away from us. That God sits in some swivel chair turning away from us when we miss it.
 This is not the picture the New Covenant paints. He is with us and abides within us. We don't have to ask God to come meet with us or plead for an open Heaven. He has already done that. When He died that veil was torn asunder. We have open access to God. He said He would never leave us or forsake us. There is no clause added saying if you sin too much I will not fellowship with you. 

 Hallowed be your name. This is a universal truth. Before Law, during Law, and under Grace God's name is holy and all-powerful. The good news is He has given us the right to use His name. When we pray in Jesus name it isn't just the way to close the prayer. It is us saying this petition be granted by the authority of Jesus as if He were asking Himself. 

 Your kingdom come. Your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. This passage also reveals a universal truth but also an Old Covenant premise. We no longer pray for His kingdom to come. His kingdom has come. His kingdom dwells within all believers. What we pray now is the kingdom to flow out of us to others so we may bless and encourage them. 
 The universal truth we see is that we pray His will be done on Earth as in Heaven. Note He didn't say He is the God of "Omni-control". He didn't say "I am sovereign, so if you want to receive healing or help just pray and if it is my will I will respond." We know there is no poverty, lack or insufficiency in Heaven. There is no sickness or disease in Heaven. There are no disasters in Heaven. So we pray for healing, wholeness, and protection today. God has always been good.

Give us this day our daily bread.  Under the New Covenant, we don't ask God for provision the same way as the Old. Under the Old, they prayed for God to do something. Under the New, God has already done it all. We thank God and simply believe and receive what Grace made available. In the New Covenant, it isn't Faith makes and Faith takes. It is Grace makes and Faith takes.

 And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. In the Old Covenant, this was the standard of Law. Forgive so you could be forgiven. Under Law, we weren't forgiven. Our sins were merely covered. Forgive in order to be forgiven is this the standard of the New?
 In the New Covenant, Grace instructs us to forgive others because we are already forgiven, here and here. We were forgiven once for all time on the Cross. We aren't forgiven and then Unforgiven based on our ability to forgive. People would say being eternally forgiven is a license to sin. To that I say, We were sinning without one before Christ. People in all denominations are still sinning left and right. Either we are perpetually eternally forgiven or we aren’t. There are no clauses in Grace. We just believe it and receive His Grace. 
 Also, license really means one believes a person can sin without consequences. Grace doesn't say that. You live in sin and you will reap the rewards of dumb decisions. You could lose a career, a spouse or a family. You won't have peace in your thinking and your spirit and soul and body will be in distress because your spirit is wanting to follow God and reject sin and your body is wanting to follow appetite and your mind will be fighting which way to go. So Grace is not teaching a license to sin. Besides this, Grace gives us the victory over sin. Under Grace sin no longer has dominion over us.

  And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. This is also not New Covenant because under the New, the enemy is defeated and He has already delivered us. 
13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:13-14 NKJV
 We don't have to ask for what's already been done. We have been delivered from the evil one. We also walk in victory because we aren't just delivered but triumphant because the enemy has been defeated in the Finished Work. Jesus is the victor and the enemy is rendered harmless and ineffective. 
 Yeah, but he is still stealing and killing and destroying. Yes, but he is a defeated foe, whose only power is that of deception. He tries to flood your mind with wrong thinking telling you he isn't defeated and lies to you about your standing before God. He brings accusations of God to you. God won't heal you, He won't provide, He won't forgive you. This is why we renew our minds to the truth. We then enforce the enemy's defeat.

For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. It is a universal truth of the glory and majesty of our great God. This prayer though still isn't New Covenant because a New Covenant prayer is offered in the name of Jesus. Jesus name is the name that is above every name. 

 In summation, I trust you can readily see how the "Lord's Prayer" isn't a New Covenant based prayer. We can see the universal truths Jesus speaks of but that doesn't mean the prayer model as a whole is a way for New Covenant believers to pray. When these mistaken ideas are cleared up and we relinquish tradition our walk with God is more fruitful, satisfying and fulfilling. 
Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Still Another Mistaken Idea: Give Thanks For All Things?

13 making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do.” Mark 7:12 NKJV












 This week we celebrate Thanksgiving here in America. It's a great time for all people to take the time to give thanks. To be thankful for all they have. Being this is the season of Thanksgiving, I felt it good to address another mistaken idea perpetrated onto the Church.

Give Thanks For Everything?

 In Ephesians, Paul makes a statement that unfortunately has been misunderstood and misapplied. 

20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Ephesians 5:20 NKJV

 At face value, this passage seems to be instructing us to thank God for any and all things on this planet. Is this what God is saying? Is this what the Holy Spirit through Paul is encouraging us to do?

 If this is the correct understanding of this verse, how would we apply this in our daily lives as Christians? What this would look like is when the two airplanes slammed into the Twin Towers in NYC, killing over 2,000 people we shouldn't have had times of mourning in our churches. We should have thrown our hands up and gave thanks to God for this. 

 If we are to give thanks for all things, then we as Christians shouldn't be protesting abortion clinics. We should give thanks that babies in their wombs are killed daily. We should give thanks for all the homelessness we see around the globe. We should give thanks for famine and poverty the whole world round. We should be giving thanks for all those bound to drug addiction. We should be thanking God for the many mired in alcoholism. We should be thanking God for young men shooting and killing each other in inner cities. Young girls forced into the illegal sex trade industry? Yep, you have to give thanks for this too. 

 This sounds crazy but sadly some traditional Christians with their warped view of sovereignty don't realize this is the logical conclusion to their philosophy. I have actually seen written teachings from days gone by where the minister is teaching people we should be thanking God for making us sick. What does that look like in prayer? 

 "Oh God,  I just want to thank you for giving me cancer."

 Come on, that is plain goofy. Again religious Christians with their twisted category of God's character they have created, "omni-control" leads to outlandish ideas such as these. That God's sovereignty means God is in total absolute control of all circumstance and events. Got a flat tire? God is in control. 

 What is Paul actually saying here? Let's look at another passage where he instructs us to be thankful.

18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 NKJV

 This is the key, let Scripture interpret Scripture. Paul clarifies his views about giving thanks here. It is in everything we give thanks not for everything. Yes, but that's not how it is written in Ephesians. Let's look at it again. 

20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Ephesians 5:20 KJV

  The King James version gives us a better insight into what Paul is saying. We are to give thanks for all things unto God. In other words, Paul is saying render to God what is God's. Give thanks for what God has done, is doing, and will do in His plan of redemption.

 I am not to thank God that my biological grandfather was an alcoholic who died way before his time. I am to offer thanks only for what God has done. God didn't kill my grandfather. God didn't make him an alcoholic. He chose this path in spite of God calling him to embrace life and receive the free gift of Grace. I give thanks to God for what He does, I am not going to give thanks for the works of the enemy, or the consequences of a fallen, fractured creation. 

 We give thanks in our circumstances because we know God is with us. He has not left us or forsaken us. We give thanks in spite of our situation because we know what God has promised and what He has accomplished in the Finished Work.

 What we must do is reject these mistaken ideas. We need to let the Word of God be the final authority, not religious tradition. We fail to recognize we perpetuate myths like these when we say things like, "I thank God for my accident or affliction, even the passing of a loved one. I learned so much. I grew stronger."

 These words give credence to the concept that God afflicts, He brings disease, that He causes death. The plain truth is what people are truly experiencing is the giving of thanks in the middle of their circumstances. They are turning to God in tough times and He is meeting them right where they are. It isn't the affliction, the disease, or the tragedy bringing strength. It is people believing and acting upon God's Word in the midst of their trial and adversity. 

 We see disaster, disease, and destruction the whole World round and it hasn't produced strong people. That's because the events weren't designed for people's good but for their harm. A fallen World and an enemy roaming and seeking whom he may devour aren't looking for your betterment but your destruction. 

 In summation, give thanks for all things? No, we only give thanks for the things God has done. We give thanks in our circumstances. In other words, in the midst of sickness, we thank God He is our healer. In the midst of turmoil, we thank God He is our peace. God is a good Father and we must rightly divide the Scriptures when it comes to obscure passages that seem to state otherwise. The Word of God rightly divided brings peace and comfort and when heard brings faith to our hearts.