Post by Sheila on May 19, 2024 11:32:30 GMT -5
What is known as the prosperity gospel can be explained by using the descriptions of the actions used, by those who believe in the doctrine, as a doctrine based on "name it and claim it" or "blab it and grab it". The teachers of this "truth" will use Biblical passages as proof text for what they teach. With these verses, they teach that all Christians will have wealth, health, and happiness if only they have enough faith and belief. They claim, that with this faith and belief, if a person asks God for something, they'll receive it. Here is one such verse. "Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to the mountain, 'Move from here to there', and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you" (Matthew 17:20). What pastors such as Joel Osteen, Creflo Dollar, Benny Hinn, and many others are saying is that with only a little faith a person can ask God for extreme wealth and perfect health and God will give it to them. If you don't receive what you asked for, it's because you didn't have enough faith.
What these pastors fail to mention are the verses such those found in 1 John 5. "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatsoever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him" (verses 14-15). What this means is that if we tell the mountain to move and it doesn't, it wasn't in God's will for the mountain to be moved. The same applies to anyone asking God for money or a cure for their disease. We may not understand why remaining poor or sick is part of God's will, but if remaining in that condition is what God wants for us, that's what we get instead of instant wealth or a cure. If the teachers of the prosperity gospel do mention these verses, they'll say people use the "will of God" as an excuse for not getting something. That would sound like this. Praying "as you will not as I will" just helps someone feel better about not getting something because of a lack of faith. Instead of admitting a lack of faith, the person can tell everyone that "it must not have been God's will". What it comes down to is that these false teachers can't accept the fact sometimes God's answer to a prayer is a resounding "No".
People who follow this teaching will often deny ever getting sick. Supposedly, praying to stay healthy works. Or if they do get sick, they'll claim their prayers cured the illness or disease - through the power of God, of course. There are many of these people who became seriously ill with COVID. Why did they get sick if they prayed not get it? Was it a lack of faith? The healing for many of these people weren't miraculous in the Biblical sense of the word. They didn't pray for the COVID to leave their bodies and, instantly, it was gone. They were treated with medications and other things which helped their bodies to heal over time. And did the people who believe in this teaching who died do so because their faith wavered at the wrong time? It was, most probably, because the will of God for those people that their time on earth was up.
Then there are the Christians around the world who suffer extreme poverty, starvation, disease, and many other bad things. If the prosperity gospel is true, then these Christians must have no faith in God at all. No matter how much they pray for relief from their problems, they never get a positive result. Thousands, if not millions, of Christians around the world die every day from things most of the prosperity gospel proponents have never faced even before they became Christians and started praying they won't have to face. The Christians in a places such as a remote place in Africa must be seen as very poor in faith. Or is it all according to God's will? Here's one way I see it and I could be wrong. The people who are suffering and their prayers aren't be answered isn't because they don't have enough faith, it's because those who supposedly become wealthy because they have so much faith don't have enough faith to give up some of that money to help out the poor and sick. They don't want to share what God has given them and what would be, in effect, an answer to the prayers of the people praying in Africa.
No matter how much faith a Christian has, not all prayers will be answered in a positive manner. Not everyone will never have to worry about how to pay their bills or never get sick. Jesus never promised such a thing. In fact, the Bible states the opposite. Read these two passages of Scripture carefully:
- 2 Corinthians 12:10 "That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
- Romans 5:3 "Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope."
Christians may not always understand why God allows them to suffer through certain things; all we know is that it'll happen. It's how we deal with those situations that matter. Even bad things should drive us closer to God instead of away. They should make us better Christians. Yes, Christians should pray to God and ask for relief; however, they shouldn't think or be told they lack faith if those prayers aren't answered in a particular way. Paul had his thorn in his side and Mother Teresa suffered from heart disease for many years. Many of the pastors around the world, especially in the poorest regions, live in poverty. It can be certain they prayed often for a healing or money from God that they never received. According the prosperity gospel, they must not have had enough faith. According to the Bible, they suffered or suffer to build character and perseverance.
The prosperity gospel is a false teaching. Lacking faith has nothing to do with a Christian's well-being or what appear to be unanswered prayers. Don't ever let anyone make you feel like a bad Christian or convince you you lack enough faith because you don't have a lot of money or are suffering in any way. Let you current circumstances lead you a closer walk with God.
* All verses are from the New International Version of the Bible.
What these pastors fail to mention are the verses such those found in 1 John 5. "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatsoever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him" (verses 14-15). What this means is that if we tell the mountain to move and it doesn't, it wasn't in God's will for the mountain to be moved. The same applies to anyone asking God for money or a cure for their disease. We may not understand why remaining poor or sick is part of God's will, but if remaining in that condition is what God wants for us, that's what we get instead of instant wealth or a cure. If the teachers of the prosperity gospel do mention these verses, they'll say people use the "will of God" as an excuse for not getting something. That would sound like this. Praying "as you will not as I will" just helps someone feel better about not getting something because of a lack of faith. Instead of admitting a lack of faith, the person can tell everyone that "it must not have been God's will". What it comes down to is that these false teachers can't accept the fact sometimes God's answer to a prayer is a resounding "No".
People who follow this teaching will often deny ever getting sick. Supposedly, praying to stay healthy works. Or if they do get sick, they'll claim their prayers cured the illness or disease - through the power of God, of course. There are many of these people who became seriously ill with COVID. Why did they get sick if they prayed not get it? Was it a lack of faith? The healing for many of these people weren't miraculous in the Biblical sense of the word. They didn't pray for the COVID to leave their bodies and, instantly, it was gone. They were treated with medications and other things which helped their bodies to heal over time. And did the people who believe in this teaching who died do so because their faith wavered at the wrong time? It was, most probably, because the will of God for those people that their time on earth was up.
Then there are the Christians around the world who suffer extreme poverty, starvation, disease, and many other bad things. If the prosperity gospel is true, then these Christians must have no faith in God at all. No matter how much they pray for relief from their problems, they never get a positive result. Thousands, if not millions, of Christians around the world die every day from things most of the prosperity gospel proponents have never faced even before they became Christians and started praying they won't have to face. The Christians in a places such as a remote place in Africa must be seen as very poor in faith. Or is it all according to God's will? Here's one way I see it and I could be wrong. The people who are suffering and their prayers aren't be answered isn't because they don't have enough faith, it's because those who supposedly become wealthy because they have so much faith don't have enough faith to give up some of that money to help out the poor and sick. They don't want to share what God has given them and what would be, in effect, an answer to the prayers of the people praying in Africa.
No matter how much faith a Christian has, not all prayers will be answered in a positive manner. Not everyone will never have to worry about how to pay their bills or never get sick. Jesus never promised such a thing. In fact, the Bible states the opposite. Read these two passages of Scripture carefully:
- 2 Corinthians 12:10 "That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
- Romans 5:3 "Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope."
Christians may not always understand why God allows them to suffer through certain things; all we know is that it'll happen. It's how we deal with those situations that matter. Even bad things should drive us closer to God instead of away. They should make us better Christians. Yes, Christians should pray to God and ask for relief; however, they shouldn't think or be told they lack faith if those prayers aren't answered in a particular way. Paul had his thorn in his side and Mother Teresa suffered from heart disease for many years. Many of the pastors around the world, especially in the poorest regions, live in poverty. It can be certain they prayed often for a healing or money from God that they never received. According the prosperity gospel, they must not have had enough faith. According to the Bible, they suffered or suffer to build character and perseverance.
The prosperity gospel is a false teaching. Lacking faith has nothing to do with a Christian's well-being or what appear to be unanswered prayers. Don't ever let anyone make you feel like a bad Christian or convince you you lack enough faith because you don't have a lot of money or are suffering in any way. Let you current circumstances lead you a closer walk with God.
* All verses are from the New International Version of the Bible.
Copyright © 2024 by Sheila Rae Myers