"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake, he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich." ( 2 Corinthians 8:9 )
This is the Bible verse that prosperity gospel preachers use to promote their false teaching.
To be clear, prosperity gospel and word-faith preachers argue that the atonement of Jesus Christ promised us wealth in this life. ( and perfect health, but I'm not tackling this one today )
One of the first rules of Bible study is that Scripture interprets Scripture. So right off the bat, we should be asking ourselves, even though this verse is in the context of giving, what did Jesus say about riches, money, and wealth? What does his atonement actually entail?
He talked about wealth a lot. Why?
"And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature." ( Luke 8:14 )
"And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, 'You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven, and come, follow me. Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions." ( Luke 10:21 -22 )
The man's wealth meant more to him than Jesus.
"For you say, 'I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked." ( Revelation 3:17 )
This verse spoken by Jesus to the church in Laodicea can't help but remind me of the American prosperity gospel message. It reminds me of Jesse Duplantis bragging to his audience that he lives in the biggest mansion in the state of Louisiana, and correcting people that call him a "millionaire," because he says he is in fact a "mult-millonaire," and admonishing viewers during Kenneth Copeland's victory-thon that Jesus isn't coming back until they start giving more money.
Dear God. How is it that atheists and unbelievers can see that this ludicrous theology isn't orthodox Christianity, but people sitting under these bogus ministries can't?
I think of John Oliver's crass, but perhaps warranted, episode on prosperity and word-faith teachers who abuse God's good and beautiful seed-harvest principle to exploit people. I think of all of the parodies of these charlatans on line, and it reminds me of Peter's words when he warns of false teachers arising among us:
"And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words." ( 2 Peter 2:2 )
We can see the way of truth blasphemed all over the internet everyday because of these false teachers. They've become a laughing stock. From Copeland blowing on the Covid virus, which went on to take the lives of thousands, to his tax-free, multimillion dollar "parsonage," to his embarrassing interviews, to slitting his wrist with what looks like a lollipop stick pretending to drip his blood in the communion cup. The Farmer said it was real; I don't know. Andrew Womack teaching that God is not sovereign. Good grief.
However, God will not be mocked. ( Galatians 6:7 ) The seed-harvest principle will catch up with them at some point if they don't repent and turn to Christ.
Peter goes on to say, "Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep."
This is a warning to all of us.
"And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, 'How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!'" ( Luke 10:23 )
So my question is this: Why if Jesus warned us repeatedly about the dangers of riches would his atonement attain wealth for us in this life? That makes no sense. It could be like giving us a serpent or a scorpion; he's never going to do that. He loved the rich young ruler - did you see that?
It doesn't mean rich people can't be saved. I always think of Nicodemus - the rich, Pharisee ( that's got to be a double whammy ). And his heart received the gospel and he was in deed born again like Jesus taught him that fateful night.
We see the evidence of his salvation in helping Joseph of Arimathea, another rich man, prepare and bury the body of his Lord Jesus. Work reserved for slaves and women, but he did it with joy and didn't care who saw him. He used his money to buy the expensive materials for burial, and Joseph donated his tomb. And yes, Job and Abraham were wealthy.
Rich people can be saved; Jesus said it was difficult, not impossible. Impossible with man, not with God.
"Again, I tell you, 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." ( Matthew 19:24 ) The poor tend to know they need him. This is what it means to be poor in spirit; to know our dark and desperate situation of the human soul.
In 2 Corinthians, Chapter 8 Paul is teaching about good stewardship of God's money, and that we are blessed to be a blessing to others, to advance the kingdom of God, caring for our families, helping the poor, the widow, and the orphan, not building bigger barns for ourselves. A farmer - my finger's tremble as I type this.
I sat under false teaching for years, and even now, I am still working with the help of the Holy Spirit to rid myself of residue from its poison. All of us have a bit of the prosperity gospel in our theology; it appeals to our sinful nature. I understand this because of being in these churches and because of being inside of my sinful flesh; it's a battle we will all fight until glorification.
So we must continue to share the true, life-giving gospel and pray fervently for others because God has had grace upon us. None of us are off the hook. "Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation." ( Matthew 26:41 )
"For by grace have you been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." ( Ephesians 2:8 )
Faith is a gift from God - we don't conger faith up on our own.
It's not that Jesus wants us poor in material things, but rather he doesn't want material things to have us.
He knows the pitfalls of the riches, and he knows what's in us. The Farmer has enjoyed a prosperous work life for many years, and although he hasn't always been as frugal as he is today, he has gladly poured his earnings into the kingdom of God. As his wife, I've watched this over the years, and it's been an example to me.
He would never tell this; that's why I am. He always acknowledges our partners, and rightfully so. He's helped widows and orphans and the needy, currently we have six new girls without parents coming to live at Heritage who Lisda is faithfully preparing for, but he wishes it were more. We can add these precious ones because older girls now educated with good jobs can live on their own and support themselves and others. To God be the glory.
Jesus doesn't just warn of wealth - he shows us the better way.
By his teaching that God already knows what we need before we ask him, to pray and ask for our daily bread, to understand and look at God's beautiful creation and see that he feeds his birds; he clothes his flowers. And we are of more worth to him than those, so we can rest assure as we seek his kingdom and his righteousness - not wealth and riches - all of these things ( food, drink, clothing, daily needs, but more importantly our salvation ) will be added to us.
I know this is true because I've lived it.
Jesus also shows us the better way by his life:
"but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant." ( Philippians 2:8 )
Don't miss this. Don't allow the prosperity gospel to rob you of the true gospel.
The prosperity gospel preachers minimize the forgiveness of sins and the imputation of Christ's righteousness in the atonement to proclaim that it granted us wealth in this life. If wealth does come, as believers we have a responsibility to use it for God's kingdom. It's his money. And yes, part of that is taking care of our own families, for sure.
In everything, we must be humble, poor and needy in our souls, this is knowing that without the atonement of Jesus Christ we could never be forgiven of our sins and adopted by God or have eternal life with him.
God gives us the faith we need to believe. ( Hebrews 12:2 ) ( Philippians 1:29 )
He grants us repentance. ( 2 Timothy 2:25 )
Don't let the prosperity gospel rob you of a life with Jesus, a rich life of dependence upon God daily and the awesome opportunity of serving him with gladness with whatever resources he provides us with.
Something happens inside of a trust like this with our Savior that can never develop if we are focused on worldly wealth.
A truly rich life is one that is dependent on Christ.
For everything.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." ( Matthew 5:3 )
 |
| Baby Geese are the cutest. |
No comments:
Post a Comment