Prosperity Gospel

I'm sure you've all heard the term "prosperity gospel" and are familiar with those who fall into the category of believing and teaching this way of thinking. This prosperity gospel espouses the belief that our faith can generate real material blessings from God. Therefore, our salvation becomes a giant pyramid scheme, with those at the top the ones with the most faith and the nicest things.

How unbiblical.

Let's be blunt about this. To claim that our relationship with God through Christ culminates in us prospering financially is to say that we can pimp out almighty God for our personal gain. Nowhere in Scripture do we hear of a gospel that guarantees us fancy cars, fat bank accounts, and lavish wardrobes. Quite to the contrary, we read of our Jesus telling us that if we desire to save our lives we will lose them and that if we desire to be disciples then we must be ready to deny ourselves and be ready to die for Christ (Luke 9:23-24).

So where does this prosperity nonsense come from? It comes from those who would twist and pervert the Word of God for financial gain (1 Timothy 6:5 & Titus 1:11), convincing others that the blessings of God equal earthly blessings. Do they not know that Jesus did not have a home to call His own? Do they not care that throughout Scripture there are countless warnings about the love of riches and the destruction they can bring? Will they really neglect the words of Paul in Philippians 3:7-8 where he earnestly tell us, "But everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ. More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of Him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them filth, so that I may gain Christ." There is no prosperity gospel in those words, is there?

Those who promote a prosperity gospel promote heresy itself, refusing to see the truth of the Scriptures in favor of perverting them to line their pockets with gold. Sure, they may appear sincere and even passionate, and they can quote lots of Scripture, but let's not forget that Satan himself quoted Scripture to Jesus in the desert. The primary gain that we can claim from the gospel is God Himself. We deserve nothing yet He gives to us what cannot even be imagined here on earth. Yes we prosper in the God's gospel and it has nothing to do with us or what we possess but everything that God has done for us.

Let me finish with these words from John Piper taken from his book Don't Waste Your Life (pg. 72):

God's glory shines more brightly when he satisfies us in times of loss than when he provides for us in times of plenty. The health, wealth, and prosperity "gospel" swallows up the beauty of Christ in the beauty of his gifts and turns the gifts into idols. The world is not impressed when Christians get rich and say thanks to God. They are impressed when God is so satisfying that we give our riches away for Christ's sake and count it gain.