This
piece is not about whether or not the Bible condemns wealth itself. It is about objectively weighing the Prosperity
Gospel (TPG) claim (i.e. that God has made promises of earthly wealth, fame and
prosperity to His people) against what the Bible actually teaches (Acts 17:11).
The Bible does teach that God will
provide the basic physical needs for His people that make spiritual matters
preeminent in their lives (Mat. 6:33). God promises that for Christians “all
things work together for good” (Rom. 8:28). Despite hardships and perceived
injustices, God is working things out for His people that will result in their
ultimate good. I believe wholeheartedly
that God is providentially exercising care over His people and He may bless them financially is He so
desires. But the question remains: Does
God promise to indulge people with
windfall wealth if they put more money in the plate? Is this the focus of the gospel? Is this where
the Christian’s hope should lie? Is this message consistent with the gospel?
The
first problem with TPG is that it is completely without Biblical support. It is very easy to make the Bible say things
that God never meant it to say. Anyone
can find a verse, lift it out of its context, divorce it from the flow of
thought to which it belongs and shape it to fit one’s preconceived agendas. For this reason, many Bible scholars and
teachers have said, “you can make the Bible say anything you want it to say.”
This is an erroneous way to approach Scripture.
We should approach Scripture like we approach any other text, to find
out what the author meant for it to
say. TPG teachers often rip passages out
of context and make them sound like they mean something that they really do
not. The Bible minces no words when it
comes to these types of teachers; they distort the Scriptures to their own
destruction (2 Pet. 3:16).
Another
foundational problem with TPG is that its promises are contradictory to true
promises made in the Bible. One such
true promise is, “all who desire to live
godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Tim 3:12). This had immediate reference to severe Roman
persecution of believers, but applies to Christians for all ages. Furthermore, Jesus promised that no one can
be His disciple who “does not forsake all
that he has” (Luke 14:33). The Bible
is replete with similar teachings. However, these two references suffice to show
that God does not call His people to a “lifestyle of the rich and famous”, but
a life of necessary hardship and detachment from worldly possessions.
TPG
teachers appear to have their hope fixated on this world, while the Biblical
hope is vested in the life to come. Please
do not misunderstand me: I believe that living for God within the confines and
purposes of His design is the most hopeful, joyful and fulfilling life despite
the cost of discipleship. Nevertheless,
the joy, hope and fulfillment are not derived from promises of physical
prosperity. Paul, one of Jesus’ apostles, lived a life of true suffering. Among other things, he lived on the brink of
danger, he was a recurring inmate, he received a myriad of physical abuses, and
the people that were closest to him maligned him unapologetically (2 Cor.
11:23ff). Despite his pitiable physical
circumstance, Paul could say, “I have learned, in whatsoever state I am,
therein to be content” (Phil. 4:11). Christians have “an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade
away, reserved in heaven” and “are
kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in
the last time” (1 Pet. 1:4–5). Jesus admonished, “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” (Mat. 6:19–20). Does any of
this sound like the temporally focused Prosperity Gospel to you?
TPG
is not a real gospel at all (Gal. 1:7,9).
Therefore, as far as I’m concerned, TPG stands for “The Phony
Gospel.” Dear reader, do not be dazzled
with the oratory skills, the million-dollar smiles and the clever pep talks of
those who get rich on the backs of misled parishioners. Please examine the
Scriptures for yourself to find the true promises God makes to those who live
for Him.
Torrey Clark is the preacher for the church of Christ
Northside (www.churchatlagrange.org) and host
of the weekly Christian worldview talk show, Culture Shock (www.thelightnetwork.tv/shows). Torrey can be
reached at clarktorrey@gmail.com
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