The Incredible, Heretical Evil of the Prosperity Gospel

Tbnlogo I want to throw something through my television. I forced myself to watch TBN tonight. They are having their telethon this week and the measure of garbage being spewed by the "preachers" cannot be calculated.  It is heresy, pure and simple and EVERYONE of us needs to be on guard that we do not take on this teaching into our own views of God and our own lives. Tonight, I heard a preacher say that God blesses us because of His mercy, but it is our obedience and giving that releases His mercy into our lives. In other words, His mercy is earned. Huh? How is it then mercy? He said that we need to sow our seed of faith (preferrably in increments of $50 to $100) to TBN so that our blessing will be released. The preacher talked about the next generation and said that Satan was coming for everyone’s children. He especially targeted mothers and grandmothers in what he was saying. He said that the way to protect your children was to "get the blood over them" (Jesus’ blood, hence protection), and the way to do that was to pick up the phone and sow your seed of faith into TBN. If you exercised your faith by giving money, God would rescue your children from the clutches of Satan and cause them to serve God.  I am sick to my stomach.  Another preacher came on and said that the anointing was there and that if people would pick up the phone and give money, they would access the anointing of God for their lives and their children would be protected and they would receive blessings. I could go on and on.

The "gospel" that is preached on TBN and throughout the Word-Faith, charismatic movement says that I can release God’s favor on my life through exercising my faith. That happens when I give money to their ministries or engage in other activities. As I give money, or, "sow my seed of faith," God begins to act and blessings flow into my life.  He starts working and brings me into my "destiny" of being an overcomer and triumphing over sickness, depression, and poverty. I "attack my lack" by giving money to these ministries. When I give, God moves.  I can secure happiness, wealth, healing, and prosperity for myself and those I love by releasing my faith through giving money to ministries. When I plant the seed, healing comes to my house and those I love.  The devil wants to keep me poor and in low self esteem. There is a curse of poverty on my life and the only way to break it is to . . . give money to these ministries.

Conversely, if I do not give, then I am able to be attacked by Satan in my finances, my health, and my children are vulnerable. God can be controlled by what I do, and if I am not obedient to their commands, I will be under a curse. There are curses that come from generations back and the only way out is to engage in spiritual warfare to break the power of the curse over my life – that happens through the confession of my mouth and the giving of money to their ministries. In that, I have exercised my faith. If I sin, I am subject to disaster, but if I exercise my faith, then God will bless me and lift me up out of my circumstances.

That is basically the message that was preached. People were crying, lifting hands, begging God for mercy, and the phone lines were lit up with pledges coming in so that their children would be delivered from the power of Satan because they gave money to TBN.  I am so grieved!  How many people who love their children and want to see them walk with God believed this garbage? How many people have been deceived into believing that a relationship with God means health, wealth, prosperity, and popularity? How many people are not really following God, but they are expecting their breakthrough and miracle because they gave money, said the right prayer, or followed some religious formula?  How many are only excited about this message because they think that all their problems will be solved and they will be successful? There was never a religious message more suited to the depravity of American greed and selfishness than the prosperity "gospel."

It is idolatry. It is heresy. It is a message that actually separates people from God because we can only come to Him by faith in the finished work of Christ, not in our desire, effort, or the amount of money that we give. It ruins the spiritual lives of so many, because when something goes wrong, they just assume that they did not believe enough or give enough. It has infected American Christianity and it is all around us. It is what is popular and people everywhere are becoming more and more convinced that to follow God means that He is now somehow inclined to bless me in ways that I define. God is not beholden to me. The rain falls on the just and the unjust. I cannot control Him and my faith should not be in my faith, but it should be in God. Oh God, deliver us from the prosperity gospel!!! All that it does is make our souls barren, parched, and empty! It fills us with a longing for this world and we begin to believe that our actions can control God and get Him to act on our behalf. We believe that if we have enough faith, that nothing bad will happen to us. We believe that everything will change if we just believe God for our miracle.  Look, I believe in miracles – but, I believe in the God of miracles. I believe that God heals. I believe that God sets captives free and lifts the head of the weary and hopeless. But, my faith is in God. Our faith should be in God and not in what we can do to get God to do what we want.  God is not my celestial sugar daddy. He is God. Yes, He blesses us. Yes, He is good. But, to teach that my monetary gifts release His blessing on this level is heresy of heresies. I will never stop asking God to answer prayers, but I appeal only to His mercy and goodness and I am never to appeal to something that I have done that requires Him to act on my behalf. That is the definition of self righteousness and legalism and it is a false gospel. Paul condemned the Galatians for believing such a pack of lies.  I am not saying that those who have fallen prey to this deception are not Christians (the Galatians had fallen for heresy, but they were still believers in Christ). Actually, my heart breaks for people who have come to believe this teaching because it is so far from the Biblical gospel. They are missing so much by seeing God this way and it is all just very, very sad..

Does God bless those who give? Yes, because He is good and He rewards those who cheerfully give. But, He is not a slot machine. He does not promise us material prosperity in this world. This world is not all there is. Jesus was born in a cave, lived as a homeless man, was beaten mercilessly and was crucified between two theives. He was laid in a borrowed tomb.  He rose from the dead to conquer sin, death, Satan, and Hell, but in this world we will still have trouble. We are to fear not because Jesus has overcome the world. That doesn’t mean that we won’t have trouble – he just said we would. But, Jesus overcomes even in the midst of trouble. Our eyes should be on Him. Though He slay me, yet I will trust Him.

I guess that was a pretty strong rant, but I needed to get that off my chest.   I could say a lot more, but I’ll let John Piper help me out. He sums it up nicely:

 

9 Responses to The Incredible, Heretical Evil of the Prosperity Gospel

  1. Amen. God doesn’t need my money. He owns the whole universe and everything in it.
    Probably TBN is going thru some financial troubles of their own. HYPOCRITS! They need to follow their own advice, GIVE away their own money. God will bless them and then all their troubles will be solved (according to their own argument)! LOL

  2. My goal here is not to make fun of anyone or run anyone down. I am not a “heresy hunter” who jumps up and down and points at people who have gotten it wrong. They are people that God loves and most of them are just doing what they have been taught an are trying their best to be faithful. But, I really am broken hearted over this teaching affecting the lives of so many. It has gotten worse and worse over the years and the gospel of Jesus Christ has been severely altered by this teaching. That should cause all of us to grieve.
    So, please don’t think that my desire here is to mock or make fun of anyone. That is not my heart and that attitude is not what I want to communicate. But, I do want to do my little part to say that this teaching is wrong and it is destroying our gospel witness around the world. Maybe someone who is being pulled in by this will open their eyes. God help us.

  3. “As soon as a coin in the coffer rings, a soul from purgatory springs.”
    Johann Tetzel, German Dominican friar
    “The God I believe in isn’t short of cash, mister.”
    U2
    At lunch on Sunday, you were talking about how Western education has pretty much eradicated the belief of Hinduism as a religion in India, although they still cling to it culturally. You also mentioned how they are moving on to capitalism. I guess I understand how making goods and providing services, and being fairly recompensed for them, is a good thing. But, as America pushes our lifestyle more and more into the furtherest corners of the world, I have to wonder if there isn’t something else to base a society on. Consumerism comes so closely on the heels of capitalism. I find myself letting the boy watch content on TV or movies that may not be entirely appropriate, but I’m adamant about keeping him away from commercials aimed at kids.
    I’m glad the “Western” philosophy of valuing human life (no matter the gender) is spreading. It’s not going to amount to a hill of beans, however, without the God who came up with the idea.
    PS: Here’s the website for Greg Mortenson–the guy who’s building schools for girls in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
    http://www.gregmortenson.com/welcome.php

  4. Beth,
    Hinduism still has great power in India religiously and culturally. Perhaps I overspoke. What I meant was (and this is coming from Indians that I have spoken with) Hinduism no longer has real intellectual power over the people. In other words, it does not adequately explain life anymore. While it still has power as a religion and it still controls culture and the emotions, Indians who are looking for real answers to real problems are turning elsewhere.
    Consumerism is not just an American phenomenom, either. Indians are quite adept at it, as are the Chinese and just about everyone else. The Indians are more capitalistic than Americans, in my opinion. Everyone owns a little shop or they are trying to. What is so insidious about the prosperity gospel is that we are telling people that Jesus will help you with your consumerism if you give Him a little money. The allusion to Tetzel is right on.

  5. I found the irony of the situation humorous and that was wrong of me. I apologize. I’m still learning and growing and have lots of old habits to break.
    You’re right, the situation is heart-wrenching. But, with God all things are possible, so things aren’t so bad. There’s still hope. 🙂

  6. I couldn’t agree more, Alan. You should see what it is like living in Tulsa, the Word of Faith “Mecca.” This false gospel permeates our local culture and even people I have considered tremendously deep spiritually have all of a sudden started talking about “claiming healing, because by His stripes, we’ve been healed.” It’s nuts.
    I have to be very careful about who we put in teaching and other leadership positions. I have already crossed a few who were very put out when I wouldn’t let them put bookmarks with “healing passages” in our Welcome Packets for new members (just after I started, almost 2 years ago).
    It’s insane.
    Also, when people who are apart from God find out that you are a Christian, they immediately associate you with this theology because it is so prevalent. Evangelism around here is hard, thanks to these guys. They are severely hurting the Gospel.

  7. I believe in the principle of sowing and reaping, tithing and more blessings coming expecting from God. However, God blesses the work of our hands first then we know for a fact that the Lord of Harvest provides us much increase for us to provide our tenth for tithes. Same principle as finding work getting the salary and giving the tenth for our tithes it is never been the other way around tithing dates back from the time of the two brothers Abel and Cain.
    This scripture states that the entire tithe, whether it is seed of the land, fruit of the tree, or one tenth of all that you earn, is holy unto the Lord. Deuteronomy 14:22-29 states that one-tenth of all that comes into your possession, belongs to God. This was God’s plan to instruct His people as to the way of blessings that He had for them. God is a multiplier by nature, and He could not multiply that which was not entrusted to Him.