A False Teaching

The enemy has become so insidious in his attack on God’s truth that much of what would have been immediately recognized as grievous error fifty years ago has today crawled right up into the pulpit and is disseminated to the sheep as Spiritual food when in reality it is carnal poison. And the specific falsehood I will address in this post knows no denominational boundaries and has become infested in tens of thousands of western churches. This teaching woefully misrepresents the very character of Jesus Christ and drags the eternal purposes of God into the capitalist dunghill of the so called “American dream” which is a deceptive, hedonistic nightmare. I have personally sat and listened as preachers from a host of denominations articulated this unbiblical principle while doctrinally shallow sheep mixed with unregenerate goats listen together with tacit approval that what is being said is God’s will. It is not nor has it ever been.

This falsehood teaches that if we believe God’s Word and if we give to God’s work in faith then God will prosper you financially. Now just the fact that when a congregation does not stand up collectively and walk out on such teaching openly reveals the lustful and carnal nature of millions of American church members. How can anyone who has been to Golgotha and watched the suffering Savior as He pays for our sins and by faith been born again into Christ ever distill that crimson sacrifice down to dollars and cents? And how can anyone read the Words of Jesus and interpret such a heresy, one must systematically ignore the Savior's own teachings and supplant them with man's self serving words. It is not only repugnant it is blasphemy. But it puts money into the covetous coffers of the building obsessed local church so whatever works passes as truth.

How did the evangelical world buy into this ear tickling teaching? One of the reasons is that the American church came to view America as a Christian nation and that the material blessings were from Almighty God. No one preached that God wanted everyone materially prosperous during the depression because money was scarce, but when the country’s economy began to increase and Christians began to prosper materially then it was a natural progression that men would wrest the Scriptures in order that everyone could satisfy their lustful ambitions and stamp “God’s Will” on it. And to top it off the teaching goes that if you are not increasing in material possessions then you are out of God’s will and doing something wrong. And with no conscience and less discernment carnal men have adorned the preaching of the cross with economic strategies designed to achieve financial gain. This isn’t the Word of God, it is the voice of the hedonistic American culture.

And though it began with some modern charismatic streams of thought it has now flowed into even the most conservative Baptist churches that do not present it in the exact same way as the Word of Faith teachers but the bottom line is the same. Now much of the essence of the false teaching includes the Old Testament stories of Abraham’s blessings and torturously presenting them in a New Testament context and in so doing they have changed the nature of obvious and open teaching of the New Testament writers to say nothing of the teachings and example of the Lord Jesus Himself. Much of the prosperity thrust of deceived men comes within the present context of exorbitant salaries and building programs. These teachings would have been dismissed as demonic by most if not all of the great fathers of the faith even if they differed about other issues. Luther, Calvin, Whitefield, Stoddard, Edwards, Finney, Wesley, Evans, Moody, and all the Pilgrims and Puritans although disagreeing with each other on other theological issues would have collectively considered the prosperity message in any form as spawned from the demon of hedonism and a shame to the preaching of the glorious gospel of the Lord Jesus. And indeed it is.

Who would have believed that preachers would one day stand before congregations and preach about sex, pleasures, and making money and attach God’s very name to all of it? If your preacher teaches that God will bless you financially in response to your giving he is deceived and is operating with a covetous spirit rather than the Spirit of God. It can never be described as an offering much less a sacrifice if it is given as an investment expecting a greater monetary return. The overwhelming majority of Christian television is a disgusting concoction of man made gimmicks and self centered teaching, and most of the TV “stars” live in opulence from the indiscriminate gifts of their followers some of whom have never experienced the promised prosperity but fail to connect the dots. It is a three ring circus that demeans the message of Christ and the integrity of the Scriptures.

I personally believe the western evangelical church is so far gone on so many fronts that she will not only remain in the clutches of demonic, cultural, and hedonistic deception but she will continue to willingly and happily go chasing after her own happiness rather than the glorifying sufferings of the Savior. The most dangerous aspect of this teaching is that many sinners are "accepting Jesus" not as the only sin bearering Lord, they want Him as a financial help in this earthly life. And if that be the case, they are not saved. And the Savior’s own Words that “the love of money is the root of all evil” is not only ignored but the modern preachers teach that you can have a lot of money and not love it. That my friends is the rarest of all birds and I sometimes doubt whether it is possible to be very rich and not spend most of your time centered on keeping and making more. Most poor people have the love of money how much more rich people. Paul warned that some men will teach that gaining money is God’s will and the vast crowd of professing Christians sit week after week in churches that claim to believe and teach the Bible, and they listen to modern and error filled interpretations of God’s Holy Word, and they do not even know it or care. Doctrinally illiterate, Spiritually dry, bound by pleasure, void of true sacrifice, and yet upbeat and friendly while the greatest and most colossal crisis, God’s impending wrath, continues its path like an enormous asteroid of judgment on a collision course with the whole world. When so little is said about it with so litte passion it painfully reveals a careless and self consumed western church.

And so Sudanese brothers and sisters have no dwelling place and very little to eat and yet God wants us to be rich. Pakistani believers lose their jobs because of their faith but God wants them rich. And watch when the American economy takes a plunge and see if the Christian community takes a parallel financial hit also. Brothers and sisters in Christ, it is much worse than I can describe, we have been deceived and now we are not only comfortable with the deception, we have attributed it to God’s will for every believer’s life. I am no more or less a sinner saved by grace than anyone else, but I refuse to listen to a western preacher speak of gaining material wealth in open contradiction the Words of Jesus Himself who said “Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth”. But some would say does that mean we can have no money saved and just live day to day? Well, I’m not sure it means that but I believe that is closer to the truth of that verse than what we live out today.

Jesus, we are so grieved as we see what men have done to Your mission and Your message in an attempt to gain this world’s goods. I think of the great condescending incarnation which brought You to us when we were utterly incapable of even contemplating who You were and yet men want to use You as a means to their greedy ends. I think of the abuse and unbelief You suffered as You walked through this world, and how men rejected the greatest offer ever made, and how You were not deterred from the cross of Calvary. I think of the shame and suffering You endure for us and with that on my heart I can never understand how those who claim to know You would ever bring money and wealth into the sacredness of Your redemption. Let us never stray or even compromise concerning You and Your redemption. You are worthy, Lord Jesus, of all glory and praise.

So we must reject any form of this teaching and remind ourselves of the actual teaching of God’s Word.
I Tim.6:5-10 - Perverse disputing of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth; supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw yourself. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And with food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare and into many foolish and hurtful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil, which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Amen.