Prosperity Gospel is a Counterfeit Religion

  PROSPERITY GOSPEL IS A COUNTERFEIT RELIGION

By Ezekiel Kimosop

The Prosperity Gospel is one of the fastest growing religions in contemporary Christianity. It was initially identified with a section of Pentecostal Christianity but it has since mutated into a class of its own, complete with its set of popular televangelists and mega church preachers. One prominent section of the prosperity theology group is the Word of Faith movement.

This brand of Christianity claims, among other things, that God desires that believers should enjoy unlimited material prosperity and that they should not experience suffering of any description. The doctrine is hinged on the view that Jesus Christ suffered on the cross to free his followers from poverty, disease and suffering.

They further argue that all that is required to access God's bountiful blessings is the exercise of faith in prayer by an "anointed" apostolic preacher who is believed to possess special mystical powers granted to them by God. At its worst, prosperity theology presupposes that the deitified "man of God" can cause things to happen at his command. In this context, man is elevated to deity as God is reduced to an ATM dispenser at the disposal of the superman preacher! A number of proof texts such as Psalm 82:6 are often quoted in defense of this religion.

Is this doctrine taught or implied in Scripture? Does God empower a specific set of preachers with special miracle powers to the exclusion of others? Is Christian suffering not contemplated in Scripture? How should we understand the words of Jesus where he says that anyone who desires to be His disciple must pick up his cross and follow him? (see Matthew 10:38; Luke 9:23, 14:27).

I am persuaded that the prosperity gospel is inconsistent with the the teaching of Scripture. Christian suffering is an ordinary experience that is contemplated and taught in Scripture. Jesus taught that the poor will always be part of human society.

A Christian community will therefore consist of the rich and the poor members of society. Those that are "materially disadvantaged" in a Christian community are part of God's household in Christ Jesus and should be treated with dignity [see James 2:1-13). The needy among believers and even in the society should be supported by those who are materially blessed (James 1:27).

Besides, any endowments of spiritual gifts or resources are primarily intended for the advancement of the body of Christ. They are never meant to enrich a class of individuals at the expense of the rest of the congregation or community of believers.

Some prosperity teachers are known to take advantage of vulnerable Christians by demanding financial gifts in exchange for "miracle" prayers. This phenomenon is common with Christian communities that are not adequately instructed in Biblical truth and could be lacking in discernment (cf. Ephesians 4:11-16). 

I once attended a youth conference at an Evangelical church in Nairobi where a prosperity preacher was concluding his preaching. He had been invited by the youth leaders of the church.

The man made a strange request at the close of his preaching. He asked the youth to remove from their pockets and lift up with their right hands whatever money they had so that he may pray for God's blessings over them.

Most of the youth unsuspectingly removed all the money they had, including perhaps their bus fare!

The charismatic preacher, who went by the title Apostle X [name withheld], then asked them to put the money on the podium. The youth obeyed him and dropped dozens of banknotes and coins next to the preacher's feet.

The man then proclaimed that the money was "seed money" and that God would perform miracles and multiply His blessings to those who parted with it by faith! Never mind that his intentions in collecting the money were not revealed in advanced! He then declared that those who were unemployed would receive jobs while others would receive different sets of miracles. He even told them to take his phone number so that they would contact him whenever God answered the prayers!

As the man stepped down from the podium, I could read the disappointment on his face as he collected the money. The "seed money" turned out to be a paltry sum, perhaps no more than $10. He perhaps expected much more money but the gathering majorly consisted of unemployed and college youth from poor neighborhoods. 

The preacher pocketed the cash and hastily left the church hall, perhaps heading for another "apostolic" assignment. He even forgot to bid farewell to the gathering.

If that was not daily robbery, tell me what is!

There are countless other tales of false teachers whose only purpose in Christianity is self enrichment. They are not keen on preaching Christ crucified or proclaiming God's mind to His people.

These preachers openly steal from their unsuspecting followers in the name of God and shamelessly enrich themselves. My view is that these preachers are daylight robbers who hide behind the guise of religion.

Millions of Christians today have been brainwashed by false teachers into regularly sending money to them in the hope of receiving instant miracles but nothing happens in return. They are then reminded by the false teachers that they either did not have enough faith or that they never gave enough seed. The poverty cycle continues in the pews as the prosperity preachers reap in millions of dollars, fly private jets, drive top of the range limousines and live in leafy suburbs of their cities.

This is not to suggest that believers or preachers should take a vow of poverty or that God cannot bless Christians with material riches or that being rich is unchristian or ungodly. There are several rich godly people who are mentioned in Scripture including Abraham, Job, and Jacob. These men did not allow the trappings of riches to cloud their religious or moral worldview.

They faithfully served and honored God with their increase. Job's statement in Job 1:20 underscores his humility and modesty on earthly riches yet he was by any standards perhaps a billionaire of his day. At his lowest moment of affliction, Job proclaims:

"Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord"

We learn from Scripture that King Solomon, who is reputed as the richest royal in his day wasted his youthful years in opulence and avarice. Thankfully, Solomon is his sunset years, admitted that his dalliance with riches and pleasure was vanity of vanities (see Solomon's reflection of life in Ecclesiastes 1-2). He had learnt critical lessons from his imprudence. 

The Bible conveys the moral etiquette and principles for Christian contentment that should govern the management of church ministries. Preachers should demonstrate accountability and moderation in the stewardship of church resources and in their moral prudence and lifestyles (cf. Matthew 25:14-30; Luke 12:35-48, 16:1-13; 1 Corinthians 4:1-2, 8-9).

Concerning believers, God has promised to answer our prayers touching on our needs according to His divine will for us (Matthew 6:33). We ought therefore to pray for our needs in accordance with the teaching of Scripture (see the Lord's prayer in Matthew 6:9-15).  Scripture further exhorts us to present our petitions to God from a godly motive that is free from greed and covetousness (James 4:3). We should also submit to God's will even as we petition Him. Jesus warns in Luke 12:15 "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses."

His concluding statement under the parable of the Rich Fool is equally profound: He sums up the moral of the story, saying, "...So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God” (Luke 12:21).

CONCLUSION

The prosperity gospel is increasingly turning into the face of Christianity, given its global appeal. It is however part of the religion of Mammon that Jesus condemned in Matthew 6:24. It is motivated by material greed and subverts the very purpose for which Jesus came. It focuses on material prosperity at the expense of the gospel. It is a counterfeit religion, in my view. It should be condemned by Bible believing Christian communities for its moral excesses.

The coming of false teachers is foretold in several passages of Scripture including Acts 20:28-30; 2 Peter 2 and Jude 1:16-19.

A Bible centered Christian community should therefore reject false teachers and contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 1:3).

A Bible believing Christian on his part should carefully discern and identify these teachers from the admonition of Scripture and keep away from their pews. They should refrain from giving in to their manipulation and deception and submit to the purity and authority of God's word in Scripture.

God's people should engage their skills, talents and abilities in working for a living rather than looking out for freebies. Paul warned the Thessalonians against busybodies among them who went from house to house living on others in the name of God.

2 Thessalonians 3:6-9 says "But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we were not disorderly among you; 8 nor did we eat anyone’s bread free of charge, but worked with labor and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, 9 not because we do not have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us." (NKJV).

Notice the modesty conveyed by Paul in the above passage. He had chosen to forfeit some of the apostolic privileges that some of contemporaries relished (cf. 1 Corinthians 9:1-8). Paul engaged his tentmaking trade skills in raising his support as a Christian missionary yet he could have relied on the churches for support. Only in exceptional circumstances did Paul appeal for support from some churches. God's people should not wait for manna from heaven but should work to earn their keep. 

The prosperity gospel is founded on a total misrepresentation of the revelation and authority of Scripture. It is a counterfeit religion. 

We should flee from the tentacles of this false religion and stick to Biblical truth! 

Shalom 

Recommended readings:

https://www.9marks.org/article/journalnine-marks-prosperity-gospel-church/

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/5-errors-of-the-prosperity-gospel/

https://www.gafcon.org/resources/the-prosperity-gospel-its-concise-theology-challenges-and-opportunities

https://bible.org/article/bankruptcy-prosperity-gospel-exercise-biblical-and-theological-ethics

© Ezekiel Kimosop 2023