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Thoughts on Prosperity Teaching

There is a movement that has been around since the 1950s or before.  They call themselves Christian and call their meeting places churches.  That is where the similarity ends.  Prosperity preachers are all about getting rich while following Christ.  Ken Hagen and Ken Copeland were the kings of this type of teaching.  They claim that the only reason Christ died on the cross is so that you can have a really nice car and a really big house.  They are very rich and have a very public showing of riches to prove that what they preach is correct.  If a person does not have unspeakable wealth, then that person lacks faith or is not praying the right prayers or is not sending enough money into the prosperity preacher.  Prosperity preaching places a burden on believers because it simply does not work and is unbiblical.

Christ died on the cross to save people from the wrath of God.  People are sinful, evil and totally depraved.  Christ took our punishment so that we have eternal life with him.  The difficultly with human life, especially in affluent western countries, is that after a person has been saved for a while, they may get a little bored and begin to, at least privately, ask God what he has done for them lately.  Beyond forgiveness, atonement, adoption, the Holy Spirit, perfect imputed righteousness, answered prayers and the promise of heaven, Christ has not done much lately…and why should he.  We have all spiritual blessings in heavenly places.  All our reward is coming and Jesus made it clear that if a person receives their reward on earth, they get nothing in the afterlife.  So I am confused why people wish to degrade and distort their Christian life with temporary, earthly, sinful wealth.

The abundant life of  the Christian is an intimate walk with Christ every day, not a Maserati that will break down, be stolen and get wrecked.  People who claim that the Christian life is one of temporal wealth are false teachers and will be judged accordingly.  Some Christians are wealthy, some Christians are poor.  Some Christians are healthy, some Christians are sick and dying.  God puts and allows Christians to be in all sorts of conditions and situation because that is how people are reached and Christ is glorified.

Joel Osteen is a special kind of prosperity preacher.  He has been described as a legalistic prosperity preacher because all the blessings and good things that he promises must be worked for.  In Osteen’s theology, people have to earn the blessings and good things.  He also focuses on attitudes and situations being blessed and less on things.

When people stand before Jesus, as all will, he will not ask about your car or your home, but he will ask about how many people you brought with you.  He will ask if you shared what he gave you.  He will ask if you loved one another or if you loved your things more than people.

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