Yo!
Prosperity. Riches. Freedom from all sickness. Many of us have heard these and other wealth promoting doctrines from our church leaders, as it pertains to us being Christians. The notion is that because we believe in Jesus Christ, we are now due to overcome poverty, sickness, misfortune, and live an extremely blessed life materially here on Earth. We may have been told that, by our ever increasing faith, we can access these things and that a lack of faith may keep us from them. We may have been told that we must “name and claim” these things, ordering God to give us what is rightfully ours because of our belief. Yet, is this what Jesus instructed us to do and/or believe? In this episode we take a look at what’s widely known as the “prosperity gospel” or “Word of Faith Movement.” Here are a few of the things we mention:
One of the main problems with the “prosperity gospel” is that it equates being a Believer in Christ Jesus to a life of material gain, especially financial. You may hear people who teach this false doctrine say things like “it is God’s will for your life to have abundance” or “it is God’s will for your life to be rich and prosper.” Well, is that what the Scripture tells us? In Phillipians 4:11-13 Paul expresses that he has at times had nothing, and at times had abundance. Was Paul out of the will of God when he had nothing? Is that not where God wanted him to be in life?
Another red flag of this teaching says that the more we give to God financially, the more He will give to us. A scripture often used to support this is Luke 6:38 which says “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” Now, taken out of context we can apply this to money. However, when we read the previous verse, we realize Jesus is discussing us judging others, condemning others, and forgiving others. His point is that we should show mercy, grace, and forgiveness to others, and in this way it will be poured out upon us from our Heavenly Father.
Many additional points are made in the episode. This is a controversial topic, but we must face it, and cross-examine it with the Bible. Is money evil? No. Is the love of money a root of all types of evil? Yes. Can God prosper us? Yes. Can God refrain from prospering us, because He loves us, and doesn’t want us to become prideful? Quite possibly. We have to be diligent in our analysis of what we are being taught, so that we are not easily swayed to a fro by all manner of doctrine.
Below are links to some of the articles and statistics that we referenced in the episode. Take a listen and give us feedback. What are your thoughts on the subject? Enjoy!
http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1533448,00.html
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