Prosperity Gospel: Any Truth To Its Message?
Some people say the prosperity gospel message is okay. Others point out that Christians are gullible to fall for what false preachers teach. People do agree that the prosperity gospel is controversial also referred to as prosperity theology and the health and wealth gospel.
After reading the Merriam-Webster definition of prosperity—the condition of being successful or thriving, these questions burn inside me to come up with a prosperity gospel definition.
Do you want your loved ones to live under a bridge in a cardboard box their whole lives? And do you hope they die in agony from the worst sickness ever imagined?
Of course, we’d all say no.
But how do you balance what you want for yourselves and others with your faith? Should you have more than enough or just get by? Is God’s best sickness and poverty?
When people go separate ways because they disagree on theology, interpreting scripture correctly reveals the truth. It directs us along with the Holy Spirit’s guidance to discover what’s true and what isn’t.
In this post, I present reasons why prosperity is off-putting to some and a natural inclination for others. I’ve included a few scriptures to help you get started to unravel this debatable topic. Just know, you can’t make a decision by taking scriptures out of context. The Bible from cover to cover has central messages that reveal God’s heart. Once you thoroughly study all scriptures about prosperity, you can decide what you believe.
Arguments Against Prosperity Gospel
What’s wrong with prosperity gospel thinking?
- Current-day believers as Abraham’s spiritual children aren’t guaranteed spiritual and material blessings. Opponents of the prosperity gospel argue that the guarantee of financial blessings gives believers false hope and prosperity gospel preachers interpret Galatians 3:14 incorrectly.
- Opponents of prosperity argue that Christians reduce the Creator to a give-me God. If you pray for what you want and don’t receive, it means you lack faith (James 4:2). Likewise, giving bigger offerings means God is obligated to multiply your seed proportionately (see the link to 2 Corinthians 9:6-11 below).
- By focusing on earthly treasures instead of building up heavenly treasures (Matthew 6:19-20), riches cause believers to concentrate more on what they want forgetting God’s desires.
- If Jesus died for not only sins but freedom for disease and poverty, why are some Christians sick and poor?
Arguments For the Prosperity Gospel
- Proponents for the prosperity gospel use Psalm 105 , Genesis 12:3, and Galatians 3:29 to support their belief that the Abrahamic covenant passes to a thousand generations because future children of God (those who accept Jesus as Lord and Savior) are from Abraham’s seed.
- To receive from God, a believer can believe for anything and it will happen when it’s according to God’s will, Mark 11:23.
- Once believers make deposits (tithes, offerings, investments into the Gospel) to their heavenly account, they can also make withdrawals according to Malachi 3:10 and receive from God, Luke 6:38. The hundred-fold return is possible in this life not in the life to come according to Mark 10:30. God multiplies the seed that’s sown, 2 Corinthians 9:6-11.
- Healing is God’s will according to Mark 16:15-18 and poverty is a form of oppression, see Luke 4:18-19 below. Prosperity preachers indicate that healing and freedom from poverty are rights a believer can enjoy but it’s up to each believer whether they believe and receive those physical benefits.
Did Jesus Teach a Prosperity Gospel Message?
I’ve included what I would call Jesus’ prosperity gospel verses.
John 10:10 – The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows] (AMP).
Luke 4:18-19 – “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (NIV). Note: Jesus declared this scripture in His hometown church right before starting His earthly ministry.
Matthew 6:31-33 –“Therefore do not worry or be anxious (perpetually uneasy, distracted), saying, ‘What are we going to eat?’ or ‘What are we going to drink?’ or ‘What are we going to wear?’ For the [pagan] Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; [but do not worry,] for your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But first and most importantly seek (aim at, strive after) His kingdom and His righteousness [His way of doing and being right—the attitude and character of God], and all these things will be given to you also” (AMP).
Mark 10:29-30 – Jesus said, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, there is no one who has given up a house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, who will not receive a hundred times as much now in the present age—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms—along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life” (AMP).
Prosperity Gospel Versus Poverty
Did Jesus live a life of poverty because scripture indicates He had nowhere to lay His head or was that because He ministered on the go and didn’t have a home base? Or did He infer that the world wasn’t His home? Scripture also states in 2 Corinthians 8:9 – “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 through his poverty might become rich.” What riches is this scripture referring to? Did Jesus have more than enough or was He barely getting by?
- Jesus had a full-time treasurer. Scripture implies that Jesus often instructed Judas to go and take care of specific needs (John 13:29). His twelve disciples left their businesses and families. Many assume that Jesus supported them and their families for three years. And Jesus didn’t see Himself poor. See the context of this scripture, “The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me” in Matthew 26.
- The magi gave Jesus gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh when He was a baby. Bible students know that Mary and Joseph exhibited wisdom in their decisions. Jesus’ earthly parents were stewards of what he owned until he became an adult. With the wisdom they exhibited in their lives, is it likely they spent the treasures on frivolous purchases? Did the magi gifts help finance Jesus’ ministry?
- The Roman soldiers gambled for His clothing; namely, for His robe woven into one garment without seams. In His day, it was rare for anyone to wear that type of expensive undergarment.
- When Jesus confronted the rich young ruler, He didn’t condemn Him for being rich. What Jesus had a problem with was that possessions controlled the ruler because he wouldn’t let go of them when Jesus said to sell all he had.
Final Thoughts about Prosperity Theology
The best way to settle this prosperity debate is to study scriptures for yourself. But here’s the clincher.
You can’t make a decision apart from the Holy Spirit. Your intellect and feelings will tell you one thing while the Holy Spirit says something else.
God’s Word and Spirit are a true believer’s final authority to determine truth. Keep searching until you have God’s answer about whether it’s okay for Christians to be successful and thrive.