The Prosperity Gospel

Posted on Tuesday, May 13, 2008 at 07:06 AM.

It seems that we, as Christians, believe (sometime or all of the time) that being a Christians means that everything will be peachy-cream. We think that God will bless us with gifts and the absence of pain. That is why that several people turn away from âreligion,â because they believe that now God does not exist or maybe He just does not care because something bad happened to them or to their loved ones. The reason for this is something called the Prosperity Gospel. I heard a pastor named John Piper explained it like this; âBelieve this message, and your pigs wonât die, and your wife wonât have miscarriages, and youâll have rings on your fingers and coats on your backâ¦â If this is true, show me where it says that in the bible? I will tell you that what I know in the bible tells me that being a Christian means the exact opposite. Matt 10:34-36 says that do not think that Jesus came to bring peace to the earth, for He did not. He brought a sword. He said He came to set us against our family members, for the enemies of a man will be the members of his household. Verses 37-39 also tell us that he who loves anyone more than Jesus is not worthy of Him. If he does not take up his cross and follow Jesus, he is not worthy of Him. If you try to hold on to your life, you will lose it, but if you lose your life for Christâs sake and the sake of the gospel, you will find it. The reason that He came to turn us against our family members is found in Matt 10:21-22. It says that brother will betray brother and children will rise against parents, and you will be hated by all nations because of His name. But the one who endures will be saved. Does that mean that our salvation is at risk of being lost? No. I will say that I believe that to endure to the end means that you are truly saved. Paul said in Philippians 3:7-11 that the loss of all things is counted as rubbish for the sake of knowing Jesus Christ. If we turn our backs on God because of the loss of one of our family members, then that means that we love them more than we love God. That reverts to the verse earlier in Matthew 10:37-39 that says if we love anyone more that Jesus, then we are not worthy of Him. If you remember, I said people will turn away from âreligion.âThere is a difference between being religious and being a Christian. A religious person believes that if they are a âgood personâ and if they follow the Law, then they will get into heaven. Religious people try to get people to believe their theology. We are supposed to spread the Gospel, but these people do not love the lost people. Some people use religion as leverage. Religion has been used as the leverage for slavery, murder, and several other actions that are not the truth. This is because that people take verses out of context, and do not read the rest of the Word. They only teach what they want to and only what might not offend people. How sad. Religious people only âbelieveâ when it is convenient. When we may look foolish if God does not hear our prayer, we just donât pray. I guess the greatest difference between a true Christian and a religious person is religious people pray and do not hear God. They do not have an intimate relationship with Him. Christians hear God and obey Him. When it comes time, the Christian can call God to act. Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to pray without ceasing. This means that our prayer should have no beginning, no end, nonstop. It should never end. We should always be talking with God, not to Him. If we start and then stop, then there may come a time that God needs to tell us something, but we tell Him, âIt is not prayer time yetâ¦catch me later God, Iâm busy.â Do you think that we will be very effective in Godâs work? The thing that we need to realize is being a Christian does not only mean that you look like one on the outside. Some people tell themselves things like, âI can look at that girl the wrong way. I am not harming her, or anyone, so it cannot be sin.â We may also say, âWow! Her boyfriend is hot. I wish he was mine.â We also might think things like, âI tell you, I could just kill him for what he done to me. I will get him back.â All of these things are not the Christian way. We cannot lust after anyone, for you have already committed adultery in your heart, according to Matthew 5:28. I think the reason for this is because if you cannot resist the temptation of the flesh in your mind, then you will stumble when you are tempted by the flesh in real life. We are not to covet anything that belongs to our neighbor (Exodus 20:17). The definition of covet is to desire eagerly. We are not to desire the things that everyone else has. We should be thankful for what God has blessed us with. I believe that the reason for this is because unlawful desire leads to unlawful ways to acquire these things. To hate someone is also not the way that Christ instructed us. Matthew 5:21-22 tells us that if we are angry with our brother, then we are guilty of murder in the eyes of the court. I believe this is because hate is the seed of murder. The idea is if we allow sin to dwell in our minds and hearts, then that is the spark that will ignite sin outside of our minds. The thing that should be one of our goals is that our flesh is not opaque to hide the evil heart from others, but that our flesh is transparent, so our loving heart, filled with Christ, shines through, because that is where Christ dwells (Galatians 2:20). Love cannot be acted. I donât care that we have seen plays like Romeo and Juliet. It may seem real to us, but no one can fake anything to God. If you do not love, God knows it. 1 John 4:8 tells us that the one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. This is the key to being a Christianâ¦we must know God and have an intimate relationship with Him. We sometimes think that the key to knowing God is to pray, pray, pray. Prayer is important, but we must also listen. If we will listen to Godâs voice, according to Psalms 95:7-8, we are not to harden our hearts. If we ignore His voice, then our heart becomes hardened, and not tender. If we ignore Him enough, we will become deaf to Him. What kind of relationship is there with no communication? It would not be very intimate. Donât get me wrong, religious people have a hard time as well. They are like the Pharisees. Bless their hearts; they worked so hard to follow the Law. However, no flesh can be justify by the Law, but only through faith through Jesus Christ (Galatians 2:16). Does that mean that we can just sit back and do no good deeds? God forbid! James 3:18-26 tells us that if someone shows you their faith without works, you can show them your faith through your works. For faith without works is dead. 2 Peter 1:1-11 tells us that after we have acquired our salvation, we should add (what some people call) the âseven pillarsâ to our faith so that we can be partakers of the divine nature. It is talking about the work for Godâs kingdom. These pillars are moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. The Word tells us that if we follow these qualities, and apply all diligence to apply these to our faith, then we will never stumble. With these qualities, entrance into the kingdom of heaven will be abundantly supplied to us. I suppose by now, you are thinking that this is hard to do. This is the truth, it is hard. It is also NOT the Prosperity Gospel. I see no where in the bible where it says that everything will be peachy-cream. We should not be afraid of the people who persecute us, for all they can do is destroy the body. Who we should fear is the one who can destroy both body and soul in hell (Matthew 10:28). This life is like a blink of an eye, and is nothing compared to eternity. No one can truly get the concept of eternity. My dad told me about the way he was told to describe eternity. Imagine a string that starts at the earth and goes all the way to the moon and there is one ant that will carry the earth to the moon one grain at the time. In the time it takes the ant to carry the entire earth to the moon that will be just the beginning of eternity. Some people will say, âWell if I go to Hell, all my friends will be there.â That disturbs me. Hell is not some party. If you are in pain, you are not thinking about where the next party is. All you can think about is what position I can get in to ease the pain. The thing is, there is no comfortable position and you are tormented for all eternity. The question that we have to ask ourselves is where is our faith? Is out faith in the gifts that we receive and when the going gets tough, the tough get going? Or is our faith in a powerful God, who knows and sees all, who is good, who loves His children, who reward us not in tangible things, but rewards in heaven, and who never leaves us, who never abandons us, and always allows us to repent for our sins? I follow the God that sent His son Jesus Christ to die for our sin (John 3:16). I will suffer for Christ, because he suffered a lot more for me. I will never be able to repay Him for His love, and He does not expect us to. He does expect us to love one another as He has loved us (John 13:34). The one thing that we are to do is to make Christ look great and very valuable. It is not about the stuff that we acquire throughout our lives. If it was, then why has no sane person ever comforted themselves, on their deathbed, with the stuff they have acquired, that there life was well spent? I will also say this, why was Paul so eager to die to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ, for he was sane, was he not? John Piper put it this way: âGod is most glorified in you when you are most satisfied in Him in the midst of loss, not prosperity.â

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