Some preachers today proudly refer to themselves as prosperity preachers. They promote a message that emphasizes material gain and wealth. In this post, I focus on the danger of unbiblical prosperity teachings. These teachings are perversions of the truth about biblical prosperity. Some preachers today pervert the gospel in order to exploit the financial needs or the financial greed of churchgoers with the ultimate goal of lining their own pockets.
God is not opposed to His people prospering in this world. Take Psalm 1, for example. Verse 3 of this psalm reads, “And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper” (KJV). But the problem exists with the deliberate, unbalanced prosperity teachings we hear today. Here are a couple of interesting examples I have heard or witnessed:
A preacher comes on TV and makes a financial appeal to his viewers. He bases his appeal on Acts 16:31, which says, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” He tells the viewers that if they want their whole house to be saved to send him sixteen dollars and thirty-one cents.
What nonsense! No one’s house is saved by merely sending some specified amount of money to a preacher.
In another instance, a pastor stands before her congregation. She tells the members about one church member who wanted to make substantially more money on her job. So by faith, she started giving a tithe of that much higher amount of money she wanted to make. According to the pastor, God eventually blessed that church member to that desired level of income.
Perhaps the pastor was not lying. Things may have worked out that way for the young lady the pastor was talking about. But to present that as a scheme to motivate God’s people to give more money in church is just not biblical. You see, the pastor shared this just before making the financial appeal for that church service.
The Self-Serving Objective of Unbiblical Prosperity Teachings
In Paul the apostle’s first letter to Timothy, he writes, “The love of money is a root of all sorts of evil” (1 Timothy 6:10, NASB). Deliberate unbiblical prosperity teachings are rooted in the love of money because those teachings are self-serving. Through errant teachings, preachers exploit others by appealing to their love of money or their desperate need for the same. They promise monetary gain in return for giving while the goal is to bless themselves.
Some years ago, a reality show entitled “Preachers of LA” premiered. It was about 6 popular southern California preachers and the lifestyles they enjoyed as ministers of the gospel. I was looking at an advertisement about the show when it was about to air. And one of the preachers in that reality show said they wanted to show young men and women that you can be a Christian and have material wealth and money at the same time.
Well, of course you can. But where is the evangelistic value in highlighting on a reality show the expensive house you live in, the fashionable clothes you wear, the luxurious cars you drive, and the beautiful women in your life?
Being a Christian and being successful or even financially prosperous in this world are not necessarily mutually exclusive. It is possible to be both at the same time. It is God’s will to bless His people. But we must walk in discernment. We must identify and reject all erroneous and unbalanced prosperity teachings in our pulpits and from TV preachers.
Copyright © 2023 by Frank King. All rights reserved.
