What do you think about the prosperity gospel?

Question

Here is a 3 minute clip from John Piper
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukcV-xtU3hc

Answer 1

People often focus on the material things in life.

The truth is the gospel of Christ IS a prosperity gospel; but it is not one of physical prosperity. God's elect people will come from all races and walks of life, both rich and poor.

Paul said as long as we have food and shelter, we should be satisfied and thankful. Likewise, the rich and inspired Solomon wrote

"Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven." - Proverbs 23:5.

The best parable to understand this is in Matthew 25, read the parable of the talents. There Jesus uses figurative language, highly spiritual stuff, to fool the fools and open the eyes of the literate:

"For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away." - Matthew 25:29.

Many misunderstand this, thinking Jesus is speaking about money. What the LORD Jesus Christ is speaking of is SPIRITUAL knowledge; as the LORD gives us His word, the more we partake, the more He opens our eyes to truth and Christ is truth (John 14:6); however those who hold the word of God in continued mockery and ridicule, what little bit of spiritual wisdom they do have will collapse even more, but the one who uses what God has given them and goes out into all the world blessing many; to them much increase in spiritual knowledge will be given.

Quite often those who think they are rich are really poor:

Revelation 3:17 - Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

The gospel of Christ is a gospel of spiritual prosperity.

Answer 2

The man in the tape sounds so angry , if Jesus would have preached like that, I don't think that He would have had any followers. He is taking the bible completely out of context. We have to have money as Christians , if we don't , how can we help others in need ??? That doesn't even make sense. The bible says that the love of money is the root of all evil, so is the love of everything else that one puts before God.
I drive a BMW and if I wasn't a seasoned Christian , I would get offended by those comments , because in Germany where I am from , a BMW is a regular form of tranportation and not a "Luxury Item"', like so many Americans call it.
People need to stop judging people , when God is the only One who knows who is "in or out".
And by the way , I don't love my car , I love Jesus above eveything that I have and that will always remain the same no matter what I have. I prayed a long time ago for God to make me a millionaire , so that I can help , when I see a need.
And God will do just that , if He sees fit and I like to see that person to tell God "What do you think you are doing "???
The man in the tape needs much prayer and I hope that he grows up , meaning grows up in the Lord, before he misses the train.

Answer 3

Jesus preached the true gospel when He walked the earth; He told His disciples to go and preach the gospel to the whole world; that gospel was, the good news about the kingdom of God, and the new world tomorrow. Preachers are out there preaching every thing and any thing, under the name of, "the GOSPEL"; none of that is the real gospel of Jesus Christ, the real gospel (good news), is what God wants all the people of the earth to hear, and then the end time will come.

Answer 4

Seriously this prosperity gospel has gone too far.I don't think God wants us broke ,i really believes he wants to see us prosper, but the bible says, seek you first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,and all these other things will be added. So prosperity is not necessarily a bad thing, but when preaching it gets totally out of balance it can be a very bad thing.

Answer 5

2 Peter 2:1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

Answer 6

The Prosperity Garbage comes from satan himself.

Answer 7

It is a false gospel. Jesus did not say his followers would be prospered, but that they would receive persecutions.

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Answer 8

If the people in the foreign lands accept Jesus as their savior they are promised to be clothed and fed......That is gospel.....The bible even says if we pay our tithes we will be given 3 times as much....
Jesus said to not worry about what we will eat or wear that he will take care of us.....

Answer 9

It's affinity fraud. This means that because it's associated with something (in this case religion) that is usually held in high regard or morals makes it seem less likely to rip people off. Such is the case with TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network).

Answer 10

It has no place in true Christianity.
It does not fit the Bible.
God is not a 'genie' in the sky set to grant your every wish just because you do what some 'properity guru' tells you that He is.