What The Early Church Can Teach Us About Prosperity Preachers

There is not a vacuum between the close of Scripture and today's church. Many issues we face today actually are not new. There has always been preachers who desired to make a profit off the treasury of the Church which is The Good News of Jesus Christ. Paul, himself, dealt with this issue warning Timothy about those who desire to be rich teaching those things contrary to God's Word. (1 Tim. 6:3-10)

An early church document called The Didache gives instructions on what to expect from traveling preachers and their motivations:

   Whoever, therefore, who comes and teaches you all these things mentioned, receive him. But if the one teaching changes what has been taught to another teaching in order to destroy these things, do not listen to him. However, if his motive is to add righteousness and knowledge of the Lord, receive him as you would the Lord.

      Now concerning the apostles and prophets, act according to the requirements of the Gospel. Every apostle coming to you, welcome as you would the Lord.

And he should not remain more than one day, and if he has a need also another. But if he remains three days, he is a false prophet.

      And when the apostle goes forth, he should take nothing except a loaf of bread, until he arrives at his nights lodging. If he asks for money he is a false prophet. Also, you should not test or judge and prophet speaking in the Spirit, for every sin will be forgiven, but this sin shall not be forgiven.

      But not everyone speaking in the Spirit is a prophet, but only if he should have a lifestyle of the Lord's character. Therefore, by his lifestyle you will know a false prophet from a true prophet. And any prophet ordering a meal in the Spirit should not eat of it; otherwise he is a false prophet.

      And every prophet who teaches the truth but does not do what he teaches is a false prophet. But every prophet who stands the test and is genuine, even if he uses symbolic imagery in the church, so long as he does not teach others to do the same, should not be judged. His judgment comes from God, for so did the prophets of old.

      But whoever should say in the Spirit, "Give me money or something else,"do not listen to them. 

This is sound advice for us today!

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. (Mt. 7:15-20)

The complete text of the Didache can be found here.

The Prosperity Gospel and Satan's Wager

The prosperity gospel is no gospel at all. It is a false teaching within Christianity that says "Believe in Jesus and He will reward you!" This reward comes in the fashion of health and wealth. It denies the doctrines of the Fall and original sin saying in effect we are 'little gods'. And as little gods we can effect change in our lives. 'Name it and claim it' is the mantra of the prosperity gospel. And when things are named and they do not bear the intended results, then it is the fault of the person who did not have enough faith. The prosperity gospel is a system of works that denies the sovereign grace of God. Do want that Mercedes? Then sow a seed of money to your pastor who promises that you get a hundred fold in return. The bottom line is this, believe in Jesus and He will make your life materially better. In other words, only have faith in the savior if you want the good life. 

The question, "Do we believe because we have or want a good life?" is not new. We hear it most often in the negative, "I cannot believe in God because of all the suffering in the world." In fact, Satan, himself had a theory. His theory was people basically believe in God because God is good to them. Take away His grace and they will no longer believe in God. This was the wager Satan made with God regarding Job.

Job was wealthy man. But Satan challenged The Lord saying, “Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” (Job. 1:9-11) Satan was making the assumption that Job's faith was a result of his blessing. God allowed Job to inflict suffering on the man by destroying his family and possessions. Job's response was not a lack a faith but an acknowledgement on God's sovereignty saying, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." (Job. 1:21) Job never lost his faith. He never charged God with wrong (Job. 1:22) In fact it is from Job we here the often quoted phrase of hope, "For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth." (Job 19:25) This act of faith was uttered in the midst of suffering. 

But the prosperity preacher would have you believe that the only reason to believe is so that one may have wealth and health. This is a teaching of demons. (1 Tim. 4:1) Nowhere in Scripture is this the promise. Ask John the Baptist who was beheaded for speaking the truth. Ask Paul who was stoned and whipped. In fact Paul had a 'better' life before he became a Christian. And let us not forget the warning Jesus issued to Peter upon his three-fold affirmation of his love toward his Savior, "Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This He said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.” (Jn. 21:17b-19)

To follow Jesus is to go where He leads. Not where we want to go. In fact, becoming a Christian is to turn away from the world and its temptations. (Rom. 12:2) True faith in Christ weathers the storms of afflictions as they will come. And if you only believe for the sake of accumulation, well, you are betting on the devil! 

Why The Word of Faith Movement Lacks Faith in God

The Word of Faith movement is synonymous with the prosperity gospel. The movement claims that our words have power. One can speak things into reality. Name it & claim it. Of course this serves the prosperity gospel well. No one ever says I claim my poverty! No, they claim wealth, health and whatever they covet. And that's the point. Without the Law the gospel makes no sense. (Gal. 3:24) Hence, there is very little exhortation to repent. Thus, those who adhere to the prosperity gospel continue in their sins like coveting! And this shows in their lack of faith!

Adherents to the prosperity gospel have faith in themselves not in God. If they didn't get that big check or job promotion, it is because they did not speak it into existence. It's as simple as that! And this is contrary to what the bible says. Jesus taught us to pray for our daily bread. (Mt. 6:11) The writer of the "Letter of Hebrews" exhorts his readers to be content with what you have. (Heb. 13:5-6) The prodigal son claimed his inheritance and lost it! (Lk. 15:13)  Are you getting it? We are to see what God is providing for us and not covet what others have. God loves us so much more than the birds, that he will clothe us and feed us. (Mt. 6:25-26) If you truly believe in God, you will have faith that that this is so! We can see this in the very first words of the Twenty-Third Psalm.

The Lord is my Shepherd,  I shall not want. (Ps. 23:1)

God will provide for us! What shepherd does not lead his sheep to green pasture to graze and quiet waters to quench the thirst. (Ps. 23:2) False shepherds do but not the Good Shepherd! (Jn. 10:14) Is God so weak and unloving that He won't take care of us? Jesus tells us not to worry! (Mt. 6:25) He is guiding us so that we will lack nothing. So if you are lacking a need in your life, be humble and ask God, your loving Father, for it! Don't be a spoiled brat like the prodigal son & demand it. That's tantamount to saying to God, "You are dead to me!" Hence, you have no faith in Him!

We are Just Like God - NOT!

This post was inspired from a Facebook post I made which was "Let's not forget Satan always wants us to think we can be gods. Gn. 3:3" The motivation for this little piece of wisdom has been an increasing awareness that many prosperity preachers teach that we are little gods. This makes sense since these same preachers say we can speak into existence what we want just like God Almighty can speak creation into existence. We are warned by the apostle Paul to be aware of doctrines of demons. (1 Tm. 4:1)

Now one person thought enough of the post to offer a rebuttal. He writes, "According to Psalm 82:6, We are gods and sons of the MOST HIGH because we were originally made in the image and after the likeness of God (Imagodei). What Satan wanted to do was to stop us from depending on God. That we are images of God should not stop us from depending on Him"

Can you believe it? Of course we should depend on God. But we are not gods. The word 'son' can best be rendered children and we are children of God but only by adoption! (Rm. 8:15, Rm. 8:23, Rom. 9:4, Gal. 4:5, Eph. 1:5) Now really, what was Satan doing in the Garden of Eden? He was tempting Eve saying, 'You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.' (Gen. 3:5-6) Here is the first temptation from the devil, to be like God. Hence, when a preacher like Creflo Dollar or Joyce Meyers says we are gods, well just remember where that lie came from.

I responded to this young man's bold assertion with the following. And here you will need your bible:

Let's take a close look at Ps. 82. It is not about you. It's about local rulers, judges. In Hebrew the word 'el' can be used for a ruler who makes judgements on behalf of God. (See Romans 13) The first verse reminds the judges of the obvious. God judges among the judges. In verse 2 God is asking the judges why they are showing partiality to the wicked. In verses 3 & 4 He commands they give justice to the poor & weak. Verse 5 could mean the weak & poor need help with the law or perhaps the judges themselves are ignorant because of their sin. Verse 6 is not addressed to you but to these judges. An understanding of Hebrew poetry is helpful here. Hebrew poetry uses parallelisms. So the line I said you are gods is parallel to nevertheless like men you shall die & sons of the most high is parallel to and fall like any prince. In other words, you local rulers are just men! Verse 8 is a plea to God Almighty to judge the earth as God is Lord of all!

Taking a verse out of context is not a faithful reading of Scripture! And is dangerous!

I then revisited the fall of mankind!

Now let's look at The Fall. God created us created beings. Only Jesus is the ONLY BEGOTTEN SON OF GOD! We are like the clay jar a potter makes. We are not the potter but a creation of the potter. See Romans 9. Satan cannot tell the truth. What he said was that Adam & Eve would become like God if they ate the fruit. Therefore, he was lying. They at the fruit and died spiritually. We are dead spiritually until we are born again. But we do not become gods. This is Satan's lie!

That was the final word of this dialogue. Without a proper theology we are doomed. The creeds explicitly state Jesus is the only begotten Son of God. Only means only. By the grace of God we have received the 'spirit' of adoption. (Rm. 8:15) We recognize God as our Father. But it is not because we have the same nature as God.  Without the understanding of original sin, then we surely believe our nature is uncorrupted and we have no idea why we need a redeemer. And all of this will lead us to hell which is why this 'little gods' theology is a doctrine of demons authored by Satan!

Unfortunately, to be honest, prosperity/word of faith churches are not unique in this heresy. Any denomination that emphasizes works over grace believe our purpose is to become like god!

What The Rich Young Man Can Teach Us About The Prosperity Gospel

And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “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.” Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. ( Mark 10:21-22)

There is nothing wrong with being wealthy. It is a gift from God! (Eccl. 5:19) There is a lot wrong with coveting what you don't have. It shows you are not content with what God has given you. (Heb. 13:5)

If we come to Jesus wanting what we don't have we begin our relationship with Him out of desire to consummate our sin. And God is not the cause of our sin. And God will surely let us down if He does not give us what we want. And so we will not find contentment. Contentment is for the here and now. Paul discovered contentment before his death. (Phil. 4:10-12) But he did not run up to Jesus asking about eternal life. He may have run into Him on the road to Damascus but that was not his intention. I am quite sure that if Jesus came to him and said something like, "Hey Saul, I know you hate me but that's okay, I want you to spread my message to the Gentiles. Yeah, those people who can't keep their you know what in their pants and eat pork. Oh and by the way, you're going to spend a lot of time in jail, hungry and those wounds from your whippings will heal over time!" In other words, following Jesus has a price to pay, not a want to be gained!

And so the rich young man ran to Jesus kneeling asking what to do for eternal life. Jesus rehearses a portion of the 10 Commandments, the ones on how to treat his fellow man. When he confirms he has met these requirements, we do not hear a rebuke from Jesus, like, "Liar, liar pants on fire!" So he probably did keep these commandments. It was the ones that Jesus did not mention that will trip him up. It was the Tenth Commandment that was not mentioned. You know, Thou shalt not covet!" (Ex. 20:17) And for good measure let's throw in the First Commandment, "Thou shall have no other gods before me!" (Ex. 20:3) After all, Paul does equate covetousness with idolatry. (Col. 3:5) And so the man who was already rich could not part with his treasures. In his heart, they were indeed greater than what Jesus could give him. His wealth was his idol.

For most people who chase after the prosperity gospel and those who preach it, they are not content with what God has already given them. But they are chasing after an idol. An image they have created out of their hearts. And it is this desire, this idol, that will be evidence on the day of judgment.

And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!”  And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” 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 now 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.”

Let us put our relationship to Jesus first never asking, "What's in it for me?" Be content with what you have . After all, God thinks it's enough! And it can be used for His glory. And if He gives you more, say, "Thank you!" You see, Jesus gave His spotless life for us. What can we give Him? (Mt. 8:18-22)

What The Prodigal Son Can Teach Us About The Prosperity Gospel

The prosperity gospel is no gospel at all. It teaches that we can ask God for anything we want especially material wealth. Isn't that exactly how the parable of the Prodigal Son begins?

“There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. (Luke 15:11-12)

The prodigal was a spoiled brat. He wanted it all now. And he got it. But he also lost it. This is where "he came to himself". (v. 17) His eyes were opened to his plight that he made himself. He resolved to turn back (repent) to his father. But he did not go back asking for what he had already gotten but with the resolve to be a servant in his father's household. Yes, his father met him along the way but he never forgot to state the reality of his sin, "I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.” (V.21) Now many of us remember the rest of the story and that was the younger son received his father's robe and his ring. These were signs of his relationship with his father. With his inheritance spent, the father had that much less money and land to give him. All he had was the sign of his patrimony. And the love of his father.

As with all parables, this is a story of us and our relationship with God. It is about how we are far away from God but are on a journey home. This is usually after we come to ourselves and see that left to our own devices, we can only make a pigsty for ourselves. (v.15) But the prosperity gospel is a false gospel that says God wants us to have it all now. In other words, don't repent of being spoiled brats. It's a gospel that ignores the third chapter of Genesis. Adam and Eve, God's first children, had it all. A garden to frolic in! They had only one command and that was not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But that wasn't good enough. They wanted more. And east of Eden they were banished. (Gen. 3:1-24) And eventually we got more commandments because we never learned what was right on our own because we armed ourselves with the knowledge of evil. But the last of the big ten was "Thou shalt not covet." Adherents of the prosperity gospel covet what they do not have. They want more like the prodigal son. They are not content with their Father in Heaven's blessing. And if you are not content you are a spoiled brat. Jesus taught us to pray for our daily bread. Sometimes the answer to that prayer from God is something like, "Here, let me open your eyes so you can see what I have given you today!" Scripture admonishes us to be content with what we have. (Heb. 13:5) After all, our good Father knows what we need! It is the false gospel of prosperity preaching that leaves us as spoiled brats wanting more. And the judgment is the pigsties we are willing to build for ourselves!

My War on the Prosperity Gospel

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money." (Mt. 6:19-24)

Does the end justify the means? I run into too many people who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ because they are looking for a reward here on earth. They want something they do not have. Wait! Isn't that coveting? Jesus did not come to increase sin but came to save us from our sins. If the thief repents of stealing, shouldn't the covetor repent of wanting what does not belong to him? After all, we are to be content with what we have!  There is so much that could be said here. But perhaps my greatest pet peeve with the prosperity 'gospel' is the if - then dichotomy that is promoted. If I do this God will do that. God isn't waiting on any of us. He is King. He is sovereign. His will will be done! Our earthly blessings come from the knowledge that all things are under His control. We can ask for stuff but God will not give it to us if it does not accord with His holy and perfect will. And if you think you can do something to influence His will, well, let's call that manipulation and what does that say about you? Let us not forget we are God's servants. He does not serve us. Let us trust Scripture when it says:

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say,

“The Lord is my helper;
    I will not fear;
what can man do to me?” (Heb. 13:5-6)