There are a lot of preachers and ministers (Charlatins) who are perverting the Gospel of Jesus Christ! They use Biblical terms… quote a lot of Scripture… use smooth logic… and have large followings. But the message they preach is a lie. I was reading another blog that made this point and I just had to comment on it myself.
These men and women teach that it is God’s will for His children to be wealthy and healthy. They teach it is God’s plan for His children to prosper. They cater to the fleshly side of men’s nature. They teach if you believe… you will receive. Click here for a previous post that dealt with this topic by video (This is well worth watching!).
I suggest you to click here and consider the theology that will open your eyes to the error these people preach.
The term applied to these “ministers” is “The Prosperity Gospel,” or “The Health And Wealth Gospel,” or “Name It And Claim It” theology. But what they preach and teach is anything BUT The Gospel Jesus brought to earth!
The problem with their “Gospel” is that it is set on the fires of hell. Compare their message to what Jesus and Paul taught as found in the following Scriptures…
Acts 14:22 “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.
Philippians 1:29 “For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.”
Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
Matthew 16:24-26 “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it. For what will a man be profited, if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”
Luke 12:15 “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.”
The “Gospel” that I’ve heard come from Joel Oseteen, Joyce Meyer, Creflo Dollar, Kenneth Copeland, and Benny Hinn (et al.) is not the Gospel I read in the New Testament. They don’t deliver the message that put Jesus on the cross. They certainly would have been censored by the early Church because their doctrine is inconsistent with what the Apostle’s proclaimed! So I close with the following passages of Scripture for contemplation…
Matthew 7:15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”
Acts 20:29-31 “I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore be alert…”
1 John 4:1 “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
OUCH! Preach it, preach it, preach it, preach it. Not only are they NOT preaching the gospel, what people view of television is NOT the church.
Here is a great question people should ask about the message of the aforementioned people in your blog: would that message be acceptable in the Sudan or in Iraq or China. One of the ways to know you are preaching the gospel is to ask yourself, “Is my message transcultural?” If you can preach your message anywhere in the world and it apply to any audience, then there is a good chance you are preaching the gospel.
Let’s see, would a transferrable message include these points: Everyone is a sinner, every sinner deserve the punishment of Hell and Jesus died in our place to pay the price for our sin.
Again, preach it!
Yes my brother you are right! IF a message is trans-cultural AND trans-generational AND transcends time (Could be preached in the 1300s… 1700s… as well as the 1900s and today), it is transferrable. It is THE Gospel!
May the TRUE Gospel be proclaimed by all people for God’s glory alone!
Thank you for that message. LifeWay Christian Bookstore does not sell any of their books for the same reason you spoke of.
I wonder sometimes how much it costs “christians” to go through treatment for “alcoholism”, “drug addiction”, and other bondages, because those behind the pulpit refuse to preach the “revelation of the Cross”, Jesus Christ and him crucified and one’s faith in him and what he did at the cross, where by the way is the only way the “holy spirit” will work in the life of the believer? But they preach another gospel, wisdom of the world!
Loren,
Thank you for your post… but I’m a little cloudy on the point you’re trying to make. I agree that The Gospel is the power unto salvation and that it must be delivered faithfully by those charged to communicate the Gospel. If you are saying that those referred to in this post are not faithfully delivering the whole Gospel of Jesus Christ, I would agree with you. I would go a step further and say that they are also perverting the Gospel on several key points.
At the same time I would say that God gives us means and opportunity to address addictions and problems that you rightly describe as bondages. In James 5:14 it is written, “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.” (ESV) It is obvious that prayer is an important element in the healing ministry of the church and is our first line action when people have any kind of ailment.
Along with that commentators I read point out that the “anointing with oil” is another way of referring to the medical applications of the day. It would be similar to us saying today, “If a person is sick let the church pray for them and then they need to go to the doctor too.” The point being that God uses physicians and other professionals to heal us.
When my son was severely ill 12 years ago… with the possibility of death being very real… he was on every prayer list I could get him on. At the same time we took him to doctors in several cities and in different states. As part of his treatment he was on powerful medications for five years. And the result was that he was healed. Now… was it that God answered prayer OR that the medical treatment worked? The answer is YES. It was BOTH. Who got the praise? God. Who was thanked? The physicians. Who got the credit? God alone (He gave the doctors wisdom and knowledge about what to do to heal my son.).
When it comes to bondages, the first help (Without which nothing else can happen) is God. Then we are to take advantage of the resources God has given us in the world (Counseling, physicians, medication, etc.).
Thank you for your words. I hope my response affirms what you believe.
Ron
Hello my name is Brianna. I think its great what all you are doing helping people getting stronger in the word of god and building their faith. I am 14 years old and I attend Great Faith Ministries International. My mom love’s you and thinks ya’ll are really great at what you do. So to keep up the good work and maybe one day I will be a pastor or a singer for the Lord. Bri Bri.
Bless you Brianna! It’s always encrouraging to hear such positive comments. I’m confident that as you seek God’s face that He will guid and direct you into His will for your life. Stay in the Word and on your face in payer. Have a great day…
Pastor Ron
Grace and peace be unto all of u frm our lord Jesus. My name is ramona im 32 years young just would like 2 say it is a blessing how u all let the lord use u to build up and strenthen the body of Jesus Christ. My mom has gone on to b with the lord as of jan 13 2007 and was brn on april 13 1937. She was saved and graduated frm Rema Bible College in 74, 1 year b4 i was born and… bless God… she saw all of her children get saved b4 her passing. Glory 2 god but jesus gives me strenth 2 keep on keeping on glory to god. But I just pray that God fufill his purpose in me and to finisth the wrk that he started in and through my mom pinkie williams. 2 make a long story short i love all of my brothers and sisters in the lord and i plead the blood of jesus over all of u and ur families and no wepond formed aginst u shall prosper. Keep up the good wrk. God blesss all of u. Mmen and amen, peace and love from Ramona
I just found this message board and am pleased to know that there are other like minds aware of the false prophets among us. These people are really low. Defrauding impressionable minds with there mixture of truth and lies, all the while paying homage to themselves.
I happen to listen to all of these ministers you mentioned and I totally disagree with you. They don’t talk about wealth all the time. They do talk about the message of the cross. You don’t just pick some messages and start criticizing them for it. I’ve listened to messages by Joyce Meyer that deals with righteousness and other things. I am one person who cant stand preachers that only talk about prosperity, in fact I left a church because of that. I believe in all round Christianity and that is what some of the preachers you talked about do.
Tania, thank you for your comment! You certainly have the right to your opinion, especially because of what is written in Romans 14:5. As for my position, I am one of those who considers a varied range of what people say to discerne if their message is on point with the Gospel. These individuals do say things that are consistent with salvation through Jesus Christ alone. However, there are portions of their presentations that are absolutely contrary to the Gospel. Namely their presentation of the “Prosperity Gospel.” In my own little world, their presentation of the prosperity message is so contrary to what is presented by Jesus and the Apostles in Scripture as THE Gospel, I am not willing to trust what they say on other matters. I guess a good word would be… regarding them, me, or anyone else… “Test everything. Hold on to the good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21).
Blessings!