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Sunday, February 24, 2013 pm                Money Index

THE CHRISTIAN AND MONEY
The Gospel of Prosperity

 As we continue our study of the Christian and Money, tonight we want to examine a popular, but very false and dangerous teaching in the religious world.  It is sometimes called “the gospel of prosperity” or “the gospel of health and wealth” or “prosperity theology” or “word of faith” gospel.  Many of the more prominent preachers today are proponents of this movement including Joel Osteen, Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland, Robert Tilton, Creflo Dollar, Marilyn Hickey, Oral Roberts, Kenneth Hagin, and many others.  In addition to that the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) is very much based upon this movement (notice how flashy they dress, and how opulent their settings and structures are).  Sherwood Pictures, (Fireproof, Courageous, Facing the Giants, Flywheel) in their movies (which usually have a good message to them – trusting in God, His word can save marriages and families, etc.) ALL portray that God materially blesses His disciples with prosperity simply because they trust in Him.

But is such a concept scriptural?  Does God want us to prosper materially?  In our study, I believe we have clearly debunked this concept.  The various principles we have discussed (stewardship, a heavenly treasure, contentment, etc.) contradict the very foundation of this false movement.  But still it is prevalent and appealing (Who doesn’t want to say that if we trust in God enough He is going to give us whatever we want?) and thus in need of examination.

What exactly is the gospel of prosperity?  What is the Biblical basis of this movement?  Besides the principles we have examined what is wrong with this doctrine?  In our lesson tonight we will examine these things.

 I.                    What is the gospel of prosperity?

a.        It is a movement that teaches that it is the will of God that His disciples prosper with the material things of this world.  It teaches that if your faith is strong enough (the caveat) whatever you want, God will give it to you – and they mean ANYTHING – wealth, health, prosperity, success, etc.

b.       Typically its advocates and preachers are very successful materially and they flash their wealth.
They imply to their massive audiences (sometimes television churches or mega-churches) that you can be as blessed as they are if your faith is as great as theirs is.

c.        They use catchy phrases like, “name it and claim it” or “God wants you to prosper” or “expect a miracle”.  Or they might rebuke “the spirit of poverty”.  It is sometimes called, “The word of faith movement”.  Think about that:  According to your faith (redefining it) you will receive.  The idea of “word” is that you have to verbally express your desires – out loud (and preferably to someone else).  They use words like “empowerment”, “entitlement”, “visualization” and “positive thinking” which means that how much you gain is up to you.  They teach that atonement includes the alleviation of poverty and sickness.

d.       Kenneth Copeland gives a 3 step formula.  “All it takes is 1)Seeing or visualizing whatever you need, whether physical or financial; 2) staking your claim on Scripture; and 3) speaking it into existence.”[1]

e.       Joel Osteen says, “God wants us to prosper financially, to have plenty of money, to fulfill the destiny HE has laid out for us.”

f.         Why is it successful?

                                                   i.      Many of these high prosperity preachers have huge audiences and exponentially they will have SOME who prosper and they are used as their examples.

                                                  ii.      They appeal to the materialistic desires of the worldly.  They provide justification for that materialistic mentality – (i.e. they teach that God approves of your materialistic desires, though they might redefine terms and tell you not to be materialistic).

                                                iii.      Furthermore, they teach worldly principles (such as sound financial actions) which often work.  In an article entitled, “How to Become Debt Free” Kenneth Copeland speaks of deciding to get out of debt and then he (sort of) creates a budget with categories.[2]  This is practical advice that any financial advisor will tell you.

g.        It was a problem in Biblical times as well –
Job’s friends thought his suffering was the product of sin. 
Recall John 9:2 where Jesus was asked about the blind man, “Who sinned?”
The Pharisees, in general were elitists who looked down upon those with less.   They often they exploited the poor and needy.  Jews saw the successful as godly.  We know better!

II.                  What is the Biblical basis for this doctrine?

a.        In summary, NONE!  But that doesn’t keep its advocates from quoting the Bible, both examples and passages.  Let us take a few moments and notice their manipulation of scripture.

b.       Gal. 3:13-14 - speaks of the blessings of Abraham coming to the Gentiles.  A favorite direction of this movement is to appeal to the blessings of the Old Testament patriarchs - Abraham, Isaac, Joseph, David, Solomon, Job, etc., (cf. Gen. 13:1-2, 26:12-14, 39:2-6, 1 Kn. 3:13, Job 42:10-17, etc.).  They appeal to “Abrahamic covenant” and teach that since it applies to us it includes the wealth they enjoyed.  They also address the promises under the Law of Moses to Israel if she was faithful.
God promised Israel that if they would be faithful to Him He would bless them as a nation – protecting them from their enemies, giving them crops and abundance (cf. Deut. 28:1-13).  Furthermore, He warned of cursing them if they did NOT follow Him (Deut. 28:14-68)
They will use such passages to teach that God wants us to prosper materially and if we are faithful to Him He will give us what we want.
Answer: 

                                                   i.      God was dealing with patriarchs and later a nation with which He had a specific purpose – to bring the Messiah into the world.  IF they were faithful to Him, He wanted to show them and the world that He COULD and WOULD bless them.    BUT also we must realize that the promise was made to a physical nation in preparation for the BETTER spiritual hope.  Just as so many things under the Old Law were physical “shadows” of the BETTER spiritual promises, so it was with the promise of prosperity.  IF God could give Israel material prosperity and good health, certainly He can fulfill His spiritual promises to us. 

                                                  ii.      Consider also the following with Israel (and the patriarchs)
 1) Many of the principles (of godliness) are good rules that will help any nation to a degree.
 2) There were also the warnings about how prosperity could cause the people to forget God – Deut. 8:7-18, Prov. 30:8-9.  Sadly this is EXACTLY what happened.
 3) The wicked prospered often – even under that law -  Psa. 37:35, Psa. 73 speaks of the prosperity of the wicked and how the psalmist envied them UNTIL he approached the sanctuary of God.  Psa. 2:1, Eccl. 7:15, etc.
 4) The righteous often suffered, including “the remnant” – as the corruption of materialism reared its head, the godly under the Old Law often suffered

                                                iii.      FINALLY, that is NOT what Galatians 3 is dealing with.  The blessing of Abraham to the Gentiles was the spiritual blessing that came through Jesus.  The text says so!  And that accords with the message of the New Testament, sometimes described as “the law of grace”.

c.        Malachi 3:10, “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house,  And try Me now in this,” Says the LORD of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.”  Written at a time when Israel was suffering materially because of their spiritual neglect toward God.  It was a promise associated with the nation, as in the above explanation.  NOT dealing with Christians today.

 

Sunday, March 3, 2013 pm

THE CHRISTIAN AND MONEY
The Gospel of Prosperity (2)

 Tonight we continue a discussion we began last Sunday night dealing with the false gospel of prosperity, aka the gospel of health and wealth.  We identified some of the proponents of this doctrine who are very well known – such as Joel Osteen, Benny Hinn, the TBN teachers, Kenneth Copeland, Marilyn Hickey and others.  We identified the movement as a belief that it is God’s will that we have physical prosperity in this life.  Some of these teachers say God will give you whatever you want, be it health, luxurious cars and houses, power, etc. if you will “name it and claim it”. 

But is this the gospel we read of in the New Testament?  Last week we spend a few moments examining the prosperity of the patriarchs and promises to Israel if they were faithful to God.  We noted that their example does not apply to us today, as the teachings of the New Testament are different.  We also discussed the physical nature of the Old Law as an example of what God can do for us spiritually.  Furthermore HE warned THEM about the dangers of material prosperity and how it leads to forgetting Him. 

Tonight as we continue our study we want to notice some of the verses they use to advance their teachings and we will see that they are taken out of context in many ways.  We will then notice some of the problems associated with this doctrine.

 III.                What is the Biblical basis for their doctrine (continued)

a.        IN essence – we repeat – NONE!  It is NOT what is promised us today. 

b.       Mark 10:29-30, Jesus promises His disciples “houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions – and in the age to come, eternal life.”  
Answer: What Jesus speaks of is the family of the kingdom.  Serving Him may result in the loss of your family and possessions in this life (cf.  Matt. 10:34-39), BUT consider brethren who are there who “step up” to take their place. 
Furthermore how do receive more mothers physically?  WHAT about the persecutions?
2 Cor. 6:10 – Paul explains it describing our spiritual state – while bereft of things in this life and even suffering, yet spiritually we are rich, possessing all things, living, well known, etc.

c.        John 10:10, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”  In context, Jesus is describing Himself as the Chief Shepherd.  He is contrasting the thief who comes to rob and kill you of your soul.  Jesus offers life – ETERNAL life – it is not a description of receiving more in this life.

d.       2 Cor. 8:9, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.”  This is one of the texts often used in their description of atonement.  TRUE atonement means that Jesus took care of our sins, it is NOT a ticket to whatever you want in this life!  While prosperity preaches say Jesus became poor so that we could become rich, the TEXT is dealing with spiritual blessings.  Jesus came to save us!

e.       3 john 2, “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.”  First, it was a GREETING – a wishing of “the best” for a friend to whom one is writing.  John expressed his desire for his friend – he was NOT telling him that God was going to “open windows of prosperity” with money and good health.

 IV.                Problems with the Gospel of prosperity

a.        The Bible warns about false teachers with greedy motives – 2 Pet. 2:1-3 warns of false prophets and teachers – who will “by covetousness” exploit with deceptive words.  See also 2:12-14.
1 Tim. 6:5 warns of those who suppose that godliness is a means of gain.  We are clearly told, “From such people withdraw yourself.”  That leads to a lesson on contentment and the dangers of desiring to be rich (6-11).
Jude 11 speaks of the way of Balaam for profit. 
Titus 1:11 speaks of mouths that must be stopped who seek dishonest gain
Rom. 16:18 – they serve their own bellies.

b.       It contradicts the life and teachings of Jesus.  NOTE: Jesus was poor while upon this earth – He suffered and at times had nowhere to lay His head, but NOW He is exalted (Phil. 2:5-11).  Notice that it is WHEN He is received in heaven that He is again exalted.  Like Jesus, that is our promised exaltation – NOT in this life!  While upon this earth, His example is our pattern (1 Pet. 2:21-24, Matt. 8:20).  Jesus told the rich, young ruler to sell EVERYTHING for treasures in heaven (Matt. 19:16-21).  NOTICE How Jesus turned the material pursuits of this man to heavenly pursuits.

c.        It contradicts the life and teachings of Paul.  Paul gave up the things of this world to follow Christ.  His life became one of great suffering.  Phil. 2:3-11, 4:12, 2 Cor. 11:27 – Paul was homeless and hungry at times.  For him it was about prosperity!
He too is an example to us -  1 Cor. 11:1

d.       Serving God has NEVER been about how much we can get in this life!  Our entire study on the Christian and money, noting the various principles we have discussed, demonstrates that our service is NOT about how much we can get out of this life from God. 
Matthew 6:19-21 – where is your treasure? 
1 Tim. 6:17 warns the rich not to trust in uncertain riches.
2 John 2:15-16 – Do not love the world or the things in the world…
Phil. 3:20 – our citizenship is in heaven
Colossians 3:1-2 – set your mind on things above…

e.       It actually harms the true gospel of Christ. 

                                                   i.      Consider those who put their trust in this doctrine who do NOT receive the prosperity they are promised.  Those whose “faith” is let down.  What does their failure to receive their promised “blessings” do to their faith? 

                                                  ii.      Most people, including the worldly, see through the greed of these shysters.  It gives cause to mock and blaspheme the gospel.

f.         It contradicts what the Bible says about contentment. 
Phil. 4:11-12 speaks of Paul learning in all things to be content.
1 Tim. 6:6 – Godliness with contentment is great gain. 
Not only does this doctrine contradict the Bible teaching on contentment, it promotes selfishness and as a result a failure to SHARE as we ought to (another Biblical principle we have discussed in this study).  The gospel becomes about what YOU will get out of it.

g.        It gives a false sense of security.  Sadly, some will think because of their wealth that God must be with them.  That could prevent them from TRULY seeking Him or properly applying His word.

h.       It belittles those who have not materially prospered.  
For one who thinks that God’s prosperity is a sign of His favor, what implication does that leave with those who do NOT prosper.  Is their faith too weak?  Are they out of favor with God? (Remember the disciples who asked Jesus about the blind man – “Who sinned?”)
OR is it just a matter that they have not waited long enough (a favorite tool of these charlatans).

i.         If health and wealth is gospel truth, why do the righteous suffer?    The preachers of this gospel will say it is a matter of patience, but based upon their doctrine you cannot explain it.  What about 2 Tim. 3:12?  Is God a respecter of persons? (Rom. 2:11, Acts 10:34, etc.)

j.         How do you explain the prosperity of the wicked – which is usually GREATER than that of the “godly”? They “name it and claim it” with greater intensity, and with less (I suppose) scruples.  James 5:1-6 warns of what awaits the wickedly rich.

k.        It seeks to turn God into a genie – the grantor of your every wish and whim.  He becomes a tool you use to get what you want.  Furthermore it develops a self-centered relationship with Him.  You give Him a little and in return you EXPECT Him to give you whatever you want. Who’s in control here?
In Florida, in 1974, a man sued a church because the preacher promised, “blessings, benefits and rewards” for tithing.  The man gave and after 3 years did not feel he had received what he was promised so he sued the church.[3]  The article goes on to say he dropped the suit but only because someone sent him some money.

 

Concluding thoughts: That God blesses us, even today, is not denied. Ephesians 1:3 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,”  He is able and it is NOT His desire for us to suffer, even in this life.  However, our hope for reward ultimately lies in the life that awaits us in eternity.  The principle of laying up for ourselves treasure in heaven is to take our focus OFF of the pursuits of this life.  But the gospel of health and wealth turns man’s focus on this life and can even imply that one’s righteousness is attached to that.  IT is a sham and a fraud.  And we have seen it is outright contrary to God’s word – specific passages, grammatical accuracy, contextually and in principle.  Don’t be caught up in this false religion!  Sir Robert L’Estrange, a 17^th century British journalist said, “He that served God for money will serve the devil for better wages.”    May we place our focus on our eternal reward in heaven and accept whatever our lot might be in this life.  Where is your hope?  Think about it!