WHY I HATE THE PROSPERITY GOSPEL

This doctrine is no longer cowering in the shadows waiting for the day of its unveiling; it is now creeping furiously into every door and altar of the Lord’s house unrestrainedly. It is not all that new (sightings have been reported before), only that, now, it is bold, fierce, popular, and reckless. This doctrine essentially states that God has promised His people financial ‘breakthroughs’ and varying degrees of prosperity, only if they’d do the needful to ‘activate’ (now a spiritual dialect) it.

So here’s why I hate the prosperity gospel:

Because it whittles down the Gospel of Jesus: The gospel of Jesus Christ is about spiritual liberation through faith in the Jesus Christ. The proponents of this kind of gospel state, erroneously though, that Jesus’ atonement for sin not only brought freedom from sin but financial prosperity, and that poverty is the result of sin. However, it is clear that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is about salvation from sin, not a platform for earthly prosperity.

Because it displaces the need for spiritual prosperity: Our country is egregiously impoverished spiritually (not minding the numerous edifices littered around). The greatest need of humanity is spiritual, not physical. Prosperity gospel makes physical items the center of the Christian faith, dislodging the upward progression of spiritual maturity (Ephesians 4:11-16).

Because it puts God as a means to an end: Wealth and earthly possessions are projected as the fruit of worship and devotion to God. So the doctrine uses God to get riches and possessions. This is a concern to me because God is not worshiped because of who HE is, but rather because of what HE can give—a money making machine that coughs out money with the right combination of ‘faith’. God is not the ultimate delight and supreme satisfaction.

Because it distorts the concept of giving: Many of its preachers admonish their adherents to give because they would get more in return. They clearly have forgotten our Lord who gave sacrificially to a world that was bankrupt and sin- infested (it was while we were deep in sin that Christ died). Giving is no longer out of love and reverence and delight, but out of gain, compensation, and desire for wealth. They say, “Just sow your seed and you will reap your reward”.

Al Mohler poignantly says, “Prosperity theology is a False Gospel. Its message is unbiblical and its promises fail. God never assures his people of material abundance or physical health. Instead, Christians are promised the riches of Christ, the gift of eternal life, and the assurance of glory in the eternal presence of the living God. In the end, the biggest problem with prosperity theology is not that it promises too much, but that it promises far too little. The Gospel of Jesus Christ offers salvation from sin, not a platform for earthly prosperity. While we should seek to understand what drives so many into this movement, we must never for a moment fail to see its message for what it is — a false and failed gospel.”