Beware of the Gospel of Mammon!

KEEP OFF THE GOSPEL OF MAMMON

By Ezekiel Kimosop

Please bear with me for I will be bold and candid in what I have to say below. I mince no words. I will shoot from the hip as I stand in defence of the household of faith, as I earnestly contend for the gospel that was once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 1:3).

In this difficult season of restrictions under COVID 19, we all yearn for the traditional congregational gatherings in our churches. We pray that things will soon normalize.

Those believers who are privileged to catch their own pastors live on TV, YouTube or Facebook should count themselves lucky. The rest of the believers have to resort to whatever is on offer on our television screens and other online media platforms for spiritual nourishment.

Here's the million dollar question...

Have you ever taken time to evaluate the preaching that is offered on our local TV channels each Sunday morning?

It pays to be vigilant about the type and quality of preachers who rule the airwaves. Not all that comes to our living rooms on Sunday morning is edifying. Here's why... and I will once more sound the warning...

We must keep off the gospel of Mammon.

I must confess that just observing some leading prosperity preachers teach their concoction of heresies on screen makes me sick.

Let me now take the bull by its horns... and please listen to my caution carefully. I don't relish dropping names but as a Bible teacher, I must tread the unbeaten path, and throw away the social etiquette in defense of the truths of God's word.

There are two classic examples of prosperity clowns that we can refer to as Apostle X and Prophet Y (not their real names) who regularly appear on a leading local TV channel every Sunday morning.

I have just singled them out in order to warn believers about them and to use their preaching for my illustrations. I am not saying that they are the worst of their type for there are many of their feather. I don't know the two peachers in person but I have watched and attempted to listen to their "shows" with a Berean focus, a diligence that is required of God's discerning children but which is scarcely embraced by many easy going modern Christians.

By the way, have you read 1 John 4:1-3? Do you believe that John was perhaps addressing the New Testament Church alone? Some think so and would readily contend with you, labelling you a Pharisee if you dare find fault with their MOG!

Never mind the labels for I too have received many on social media forums whenever I raise the Berea flag on teachers of error and apostasy.

Here's the beauty of this...Every faithful Christian will carry a label. Jesus carried a number of them. At one time they called Him an agent of Beelzebub (Matthew 12:24-27). On another occasion He was labelled a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners! (Luke 7:34). None of these tags deflected His focus on the cross!

Now back to our story.

My sincere conclusion is that the two guys (you may call them preachers) have nothing to do with the gospel of the cross at all! They have another gospel at their disposal: the accursed gospel of Mammon that Jesus condemned. This is part of the false gospels of which Paul warned us in 2 Corinthians 11:4 and Galatians 1:6 and in other passages of Scripture. It is a gospel in which Christ is blasphemed and the cross is glaringly missing.

Jesus condemned this specific gospel that stands at the centre of our focus, the gospel of Mammon. Luke 16:9 says "And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous Mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home."

Now let me clarify this...

Jesus was not commending the unjust steward but was rather mocking him for his hapless acts of ingenuity whose eternal consequences were sealed. The man cleverly stole from his master but forgot that there was a greater Master in heaven who took note of his mischief!

Jesus was therefore not praising his treacherous act of deceiving his master. Reading through Luke 16:1-13 and paying close attention to verse 8 and the concluding statement reveals the shocking. truth. Luke 16:13 that says "“No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

Why did Jesus employ this parable?

He was drawing a distinction between the true religion of the Bible and the counterfeit religion controlled by Satan.
The religion of Mammon is a counterfeit Christianity that hides under the name of God but is truly an abomination before God. It is totally polluted beyond redemption. This religion targets unsuspecting men and their wallets! The vendors are stinking rich, suave and extremely cunning!

Now concerning the two prosperity preachers I spoke of, I have never heard a single faithful exhortation of Scripture from the two, neither an altar call for sinners in their preaching or an admonition for disobedience based on the faithful teaching of Scripture. All they teach is about how God would make the life of the follower easy; how He will open doors to their prosperity and how Christians can stop suffering! They teach heaven on earth; a soothing message of Belial, deep heresy.

Mmmm... their preaching sounds good until the discerning believer discovers that the cross is conspicuously missing from this religion! There's no message of redemption from sin! No tale of man's fall and the way to his freedom from sin in Christ.

The two Sunday shows are often punctuated by high drama and high sounding cliches and philosophical statements that endear them to people who are seeking for quick answers to their problems of life. Many stand on their feet for most of the preaching time, shouting and praising the prophet, the MOG, papa, apostle for the "revelatory messages". Some prostrate themselves at the altar, rolling as the "prophet" speaks into their lives.

They declare and decree this and that and proclaim about God saying this and that through them. These men truly live in heaven between Sundays!

This is followed by a great appluase from the cheering crowd! These teachers claim all manner of revelations and purport to prophesy in the name of God.

Then comes seed time... and the frenzy hits fever pitch. The hypnotized followers give mindlessly, not even caring about their monthly rent or critical family commitments! They count on receiving a hundred fold because the prophet had decreed it.

I must caution here that I haven't watched the giving sessions associated with the two preachers I mentioned. I have however witnessed miracle seed giving in meetings or services of prosperity preachers of their kind. One Facebook friend recounted to me the pain that her family suffered under the manipulation of Prophet M. They lost a fortune seeking miracle prayers for a relative who finally succumbed to illness despite the assurance of the "prophet" that he would recover.

Here's the shocker: these preachers are a counterfeit... they neither know God nor His word, neither are they sent by Him. They are self styled latter day prophets of Mammon!

Those who truly love the Lord and cherish the word of God should never partake of such abominations. We should mark our boundaries carefully.

Keep off the gospel of Mammon! Turn to another TV channel which hosts faithful preaching of the word of God.

The Bible says in Revelation 18:4-5 says "And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities."

Let's all be careful and also warn others to keep off these ravenous wolves and workers of inequity.

Here's my closing exhortation:
Seek the true gospel where the cross of Calvary is at its centre; where the truths of Scripture reign and Christ is exalted. This is the undiluted gospel of the Bible.

Keep away from the gospel of Mammon!




© Ezekiel Kimosop 2020