Luring people to Christ to get rich is both deceitful and deadly. It�s deceitful because when Jesus himself called us, he said things like: �Any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple� (Luke 14:33). And it�s deadly because the desire to be rich plunges �people into ruin and destruction� (1 Timothy 6:9). So here is my plea to preachers of the gospel.
1. Don�t develop a philosophy of ministry that makes it harder for people to get into heaven.
Jesus said, �How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!� His disciples were astonished, as many in the �prosperity� movement should be. So Jesus went on to raise their astonishment even higher by saying, �It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.� They respond in disbelief: �Then who can be saved?� Jesus says, �With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God� (Mark 10:23-27).
My question for prosperity preachers is: Why would you want to develop a ministry focus that makes it harder for people to enter heaven?
2. Do not develop a philosophy of ministry that kindles suicidal desires in people.
Paul said, �There is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.� But then he warned against the desire to be rich. And by implication, he warned against preachers who stir up the desire to be rich instead of helping people get rid of it. He warned, �Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs� (1 Timothy 6:6-10).
So my question for prosperity preachers is: Why would you want to develop a ministry that encourages people to pierce themselves with many pangs and plunge themselves into ruin and destruction?
3. Do not develop a philosophy of ministry that encourages vulnerability to moth and rust.
Jesus warns against the effort to lay up treasures on earth. That is, he tells us to be givers, not keepers. �Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal� (Matthew 6:19).
Yes, we all keep something. But given the built-in tendency toward greed in all of us, why would we take the focus off Jesus and turn it upside down?
4. Don�t develop a philosophy of ministry that makes hard work a means of amassing wealth.
Paul said we should not steal. The alternative was hard work with our own hands. But the main purpose was not merely to hoard or even to have. The purpose was �to have to give.� �Let him labor, working with his hands, that he may have to give to him who is in need� (Ephesians 4:28). This is not a justification for being rich in order to give more. It is a call to make more and keep less so you can give more. There is no reason why a person who makes $200,000 should live any differently from the way a person who makes $80,000 lives. Find a wartime lifestyle; cap your expenditures; then give the rest away.
Why would you want to encourage people to think that they should possess wealth in order to be a lavish giver? Why not encourage them to keep their lives more simple and be an even more lavish giver? Would that not add to their generosity a strong testimony that Christ, and not possessions, is their treasure?
5. Don�t develop a philosophy of ministry that promotes less faith in the promises of God to be for us what money can�t be.
The reason the writer to the Hebrews tells us to be content with what we have is that the opposite implies less faith in the promises of God. He says, �Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, �I will never leave you nor forsake you.� So we can confidently say, �The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?�� (Hebrews 13:5-6).
If the Bible tells us that being content with what we have honors the promise of God never to forsake us, why would we want to teach people to want to be rich?
6. Don�t develop a philosophy of ministry that contributes to your people being choked to death.
Jesus warns that the word of God, which is meant to give us life, can be choked off from any effectiveness by riches. He says it is like a seed that grows up among thorns that choke it to death: �They are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the . . . riches . . . of life, and their fruit does not mature� (Luke 8:14).
Why would we want to encourage people to pursue the very thing that Jesus warns will choke us to death?
7. Don�t develop a philosophy of ministry that takes the seasoning out of the salt and puts the light under a basket.
What is it about Christians that makes them the salt of the earth and the light of the world? It is not wealth. The desire for wealth and the pursuit of wealth tastes and looks just like the world. It does not offer the world anything different from what it already believes in. The great tragedy of prosperity-preaching is that a person does not have to be spiritually awakened in order to embrace it; one needs only to be greedy. Getting rich in the name of Jesus is not the salt of the earth or the light of the world. In this, the world simply sees a reflection of itself. And if it works, they will buy it.
The context of Jesus� saying shows us what the salt and light are. They are the joyful willingness to suffering for Christ. Here is what Jesus said, �Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. You are the salt of the earth. . . . You are the light of the world� (Matthew 5:11-14).
What will make the world taste (the salt) and see (the light) of Christ in us is not that we love wealth the same way they do. Rather, it will be the willingness and the ability of Christians to love others through suffering, all the while rejoicing because their reward is in heaven with Jesus. This is inexplicable on human terms. This is supernatural. But to attract people with promises of prosperity is simply natural. It is not the message of Jesus. It is not what he died to achieve. By John Piper. � Desiring God. Website: desiringGod.org
John 18:36: Jesus says, "My KINGDOM is *NOT* of this world.... But now MY Kingdom is from another place!"
I John 2:15: "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world:devil: the love of the Father is not in him."
Luke 4:5,6: The Devil led Jesus up to a very high place and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to Him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for *IT HAS BEEN GIVEN TO ME*, and I can give it to anyone I want to."
The Prosperity Gospel of Osteen, PJ & ET teaches us to love the world:devil: and the things in the world and the god of this world who is Satan
Matthew 25:31-34: Jesus says, "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His throne in Heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him. and He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on the right and the goats on His left. Then the King {Jesus} will say to those on His right, "Come, you who have been blessed by My Father; take your inheritance, the *KINGDOM* prepared for you since the creation of the world!":angel:
2 Peter 7,10,13: �The present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the Day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men... But the DAY OF THE LORD {See I Cor 1:7,8} will come like a thief.{To unbelievers-I Thess 5:4,5} The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be burned up... But in keeping with His promise we are looking forward to a NEW HEAVEN and a NEW EARTH, the Home of righteousness.�
Rev 21 1:1-3: Then I saw a NEW HEAVEN and a NEW EARTH, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. {THEN} I saw the NEW JERUSALEM, coming down out of heaven from God...,And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, �Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them! They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying of pain, for the old order of things has passed away!!"
You will note that the New Jerusalem will come only *AFTER the present heaven and earth have passed away on the DAY OF THE LORD! Read Hebrews 11:10, 14-16 & John 14:1-3.
Hebrews 11:1: "Now *FAITH* is being sure of what we hope for and *CERTAIN OF WHAT WE DO NOT SEE!!"
2 Corinthians 4:18: �So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is *UNSEEN*. For what is seen is temporary, but what is *UNSEEN is eternal.
James 4:3: �When you ask you do not receive, because you ask with the wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures!"
I John 5:14: "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything **ACCORDING TO HIS WILL**, He hears us!"
The Prosperity Gospel of Osteen, PJ and ET teaches us to love the world:devil:and the things in the world and the god of this world who is Satan not Jesus.
In the old covenant God's commandments were only preached to Jews but in the New Covenant Jesus commands us to preach to every nation in the world teaching them to obey *EVERYTHING* He commanded and everything would also include all of the approximately 400 NT commandments also taught in Acts to Revelation {See 2 Timothy 3-16 to 4:2.}
Jesus also eliminated the earthly rewards for faithful service and commanded us to sell our possessions and give to the poor and get *TREASURES IN HEAVEN* and **THEN** come follow Him.
Luke 12:33,34: Jesus says, �Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted....For where your treasure is there your heart will be also.�
Matthew 20:20-24: �All these {Commandments} I have kept, the young man said. �What do I still lack?� Jesus answered, �If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. **THEN** come, follow Me.� When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. Then Jesus says, �It is hard for a rich man to enter the *KINGDOM OF HEAVEN*. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter the *KINGDOM OF GOD*.�
This inspired passage shows that the *KINGDOM OF HEAVEN* and the *KINGDOM OF GOD* are one and the same!!
Luke 6:20: Jesus says �Blessed are you who are *POOR*, for *YOURS* is the *KINGDOM OF GOD*.�:applause:
Matthew 19:27-30: Peter said to Jesus, �We have left **EVERYTHING** to follow you! What then will there be for us?� Jesus says, �I tell you the Truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, you who have followed Me {Including Paul}will also sit on 12 thrones...And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for My sake will receive 100 times as much and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first {like Osteen & his followers} will be last, and many who are last {In this life} will be first.� And there will be plenty of room for 100 houses and 100 fields in the New Jerusalem since it will be over 1377 miles long and wide and high.
I John 2:3-5: �We know that we have come to know Him if we *OBEY HIS COMMANDS*. The man who says, �I know him,� but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys His Word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in Him.�
2 Corinthians 6:4-10: As servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance, in troubles, hardships and distresses, in beatings, imprisonments; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love, in truthful speech and in the power of God; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; dying, and yet we live on; beaten and yet not killed; *POOR*, yet making many rich; *HAVING NOTHING*; and yet possessing everything.�
I Timothy 6:5-10: There are men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain:devil:. But godliness with contentment is great gain....If we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil:devil:. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.�
I Timothy 2:9,10: �I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.�
The early saints followed these commands of Jesus and the NT Covenant:
Acts 2:44,45: "*ALL* the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need." Acts 4:32: "*ALL* the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.":angel:
Revelation 22:12: Jesus says, "Behold, I am coming soon! My *REWARD* is *WITH ME*, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done!" {When He comes, not now}
2 Corinthians 5:9,10: "So we make it our goal to please Him..For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him {Not NOW} for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad!"
Matthew 16:27: Jesus says, For the Son of Man is going to come in His **FATHER'S GLORY WITH HIS ANGELS**{See Matt 24:30-31;25:31-40}, and **THEN** {Not with earthly rewards now} He will *REWARD* each person according:rolleyes: to what he has done."
I Peter 1:13: �Therefore, prepare your minds for *ACTION*, and set your hope *FULLY* on the {UNSEEN}grace to be given *YOU* when Jesus Christ is *REVEALED*.:applause::angel::peace:
