The Kingdom of God - Part 7B
- Positive Confession and Prosperity
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The 7 Church Ages
Jesus taught 7 consecutive ‘kingdom’ parables in Matthew 13.
The parables, if understood, reveal the “knowledge of the secrets of the
kingdom of heaven” (Matt 13:11). The 7 parables refer to 7 church ages. Like
the other kingdom parables, the Dragnet parable also represents a period in
Church history from approximately AD 1900 onwards, which can be classified as
the “
|
No. |
PARABLE |
+/- PERIOD |
CHURCH AGE |
|
1 |
The Sower |
AD 30 – 100 |
Apostolic Church |
|
2 |
The Wheat and Weeds |
AD 100 – 300 |
Persecuted Church |
|
3 |
The Mustard Seed |
AD 300 – 600 |
|
|
4 |
The Leaven |
AD 600 – 1500 |
Papal Church (Roman Catholic) |
|
5 |
The Hidden Treasure |
AD 1500 – 1700 |
|
|
6 |
The |
AD 1700 – 1900 |
|
|
7 |
The Dragnet |
AD 1900 – |
|
The 7 parables of Matthew 13 have a parallel with the 7 churches of Revelation 2 and 3. They are typical of the 7 periods of Church history.
|
No. |
PARABLE |
CHURCH |
+/- PERIOD |
CHURCH AGE |
|
1 |
The Sower |
|
AD 30 – 100 |
Apostolic Church |
|
2 |
The Wheat and Weeds |
|
AD 100 – 300 |
Persecuted Church |
|
3 |
The Mustard |
|
AD 300 – 600 |
|
|
4 |
The Leaven |
Thyatira |
AD 600 – 1500 |
Papal Church |
|
5 |
The Hidden Treasure |
|
AD 1500 – 1700 |
|
|
6 |
The |
|
AD 1700 – 1900 |
|
|
7 |
The Dragnet |
|
AD 1900 – |
|
|
No. |
CHURCH |
PRAISE |
REBUKE |
|
1 |
|
Hard work, perseverance, doctrinally sound |
Lost first love |
|
2 |
|
Persecuted, materially poor but spiritually rich |
|
|
3 |
|
Lived where Satan had his throne but remained true to Jesus’ name |
Intermingling with false religion |
|
4 |
Thyatira |
Love, faith, service and perseverance. Some did not hold to Satan’s “deep secrets” doctrinally |
Some tolerated pagan corruption & influence |
|
5 |
|
A few people who had not “soiled their clothes” |
Reputation of being alive, but were dead |
|
6 |
|
Little strength, yet they kept Jesus’ word and did not deny His name |
|
|
7 |
|
Lukewarm, materially rich but spiritually poor |
|
Laodicea
The Church of the Laodiceans presents to us the 7th
and last Church. It is the state of lukewarmness, indifference, materialism and
apostasy which characterizes the
This is the only church which receives no praise from Jesus.
Positive confession
We saw in our last study how the “self-esteem” gospel draws its roots from secular psychology and not the Bible.
We also saw how the “positive confession” message teaches that “what you say, you get”, provided you are very positive. We noted that this is not Biblical.
David
says “I am poor” and becomes a king;
Satan
says “I will ascend to heaven” and gets thrown out of heaven.
Positive Confession theology says that David and Satan should get what they are saying, but they actually get the opposite!
However David qualifies his statement “I am poor” by calling on God to help him, “come quickly to me, O God. You are my help and my deliverer” (Ps 70:5). It was not positive (false) confession, but a true statement of the facts and an appeal to God which helped him.
So if its roots were not in the Bible, where does the “positive confession” message come from and why is it so widespread among charismatic Christians? [1]
Christian Science
Q: What are the roots of the “positive confession” message?
A: It’s roots
are indirectly in the cult of Christian Science as propagated by Mary Baker
Eddy.
Well-known pastor and Charismatic leader of Calvary Chapel, Chuck Smith wrote a
book, “Charisma vs. Charismania”, where he writes, “The latest wind of
pernicious, unscriptural doctrine to blow through the ranks of some
Charismatics is the ‘what-you-say-is-what-you-get’ teaching”. He condemns the
teaching of “negative and positive confession” and states that these teachings
“sound more like Mary Baker Eddy than the Apostle Paul”.
Word-Faith movement
Q: Why is it so widespread among Charismatic Christians?
A: E.W.
Kenyon, pastor of the
Positive Mental Attitude (PMA)
Many of the phrases popularised by present-day prosperity preachers, such as, “What I confess, I possess,” were originally coined by Kenyon. Kenneth Hagin… plagiarised much of Kenyon’s work, including the statement, “Every man who has been ‘born again’ is an Incarnation … The believer is as much an Incarnation as was Jesus of Nazareth.” [4]
Linked to the Positive Confession movement is the concept of Positive Mental Attitude (PMA). PMA has become the major link between sorcery and Christianity. It is the human potential movement that incorporates the age old Eastern mystique that all men can acquire godhood, that “we can achieve anything we conceive.” [5]
The PMA that is promoted in today’s New Age, however, is based
upon humanistic psychology’s first article of faith: “Human potential is
infinite!” The real Christian is happy and positive in all circumstances
because he believes that God, who alone is infinite, loves and cares for him.
These two concepts - Christian and PMA - are mutually contradictory, in spite
of the sincere people who believe they are the same thing expressed in
different language. [6]
PMA in
the church
Those directly responsible for bringing PMA into the
professing church are Norman Vincent Peale and Robert Schuller. Napoleon Hill
and W. Clement Stone, the originators or the PMA concept, talk about ‘God’ in
their books, but their ‘God’ is a metaphysical ‘Divine Power’ that can be
tapped into through mind-power techniques (from visualization to positive
self-talk and other forms of self-hypnosis and self-image psychology). Hill and
Stone don’t substitute PMA for faith, but promote an even more dangerous idea:
that PMA and faith are one and the same, that believing in the power of the
mind is somehow the same as believing in God; that the human mind is some kind
of magic talisman that wields a metaphysical force with infinite potential
because, somehow, it is part of what they call Infinite Intelligence. This is
the ‘God’ of the mind-science cults and of the New Age. [7]
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?
We need correct teaching based on the Bible, not psychology, humanism or cultic philosophy:
Eph
4:11-14 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be
evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for
works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach
unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature,
attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no
longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there
by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their
deceitful scheming.
Confession – Biblical perspective
The Bible only speaks of confession with regard to ‘confessing sin’ and confessing the Lord’s name.
1) CONFESSING SIN (i.e. we first make a negative confession to be saved.)
Confessing
their sins, they were baptized… (Matt 3:6, Mk 1:5)
Acts
19:18 Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil
deeds.
1
John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us
our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
2) CONFESSING THE LORD (This is the only positive confession Scripture instructs us to make.)
Rom
10:9-10 That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in
your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with
your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that
you confess and are saved.
Phil
2:10-11 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth
and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord…
WITH REGARD TO HEALING THE BIBLE NEVER SPEAKS OF CONFESSION BESIDES THE CONFESSION OF SIN
James
5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that
you may be healed.
The Bible doesn’t teach that healing comes from positive (false) confession. Faith is based on true confession of the situation (which is negative), but believing and confessing that God is able to heal despite the situation (positive).
Lam
3:37 Who can speak and have it happen if the Lord has not decreed it? Is it not
from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come?
Jesus commended the Canaanite woman for her “great faith” (Matt 15:28) so let’s consider her example:
A
Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David,
have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.”
(Matt 15:22)
“My
daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession”: This is a negative but
true confession.
“Lord,
Son of David, have mercy on me”: The positive confession is that Jesus is
Messiah (Son of David) and Lord (i.e. he is able to heal). These are followed
by a plea for mercy.
Her
great faith was evidenced by her persistence in asking for her daughter’s
healing even when Jesus seemingly discourages her. [8]
God’s
sovereignty & His will
When sentenced to the fiery furnace, Daniel’s 3 friends in their statement to Nebuchadnezzar acknowledge both God’s power to deliver them, but also his sovereignty in the matter.
Dan
3:16-18 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar,
we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown
into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he
will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to
know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you
have set up.”
One televangelist writes: “… healing is the will of God for you. Never, ever, ever go to the Lord and say, ‘If it be thy will…’ Don’t allow such faith-destroying words to be spoken from your mouth. When you pray ‘if it be your will, Lord,’ faith is destroyed. Doubt will billow up and flood your being. Be on guard against words like this which will rob you of your faith and drag you down in despair. It is His will. [9]
Yet Jesus prayed “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42). In this case - we all know that God did not take the cup away, because that would have prevented his will (i.e. man’s redemption) being accomplished.
Prosperity
Material wealth, spiritual poverty
YOU
ARE RICH, YET YOU ARE POOR
o Jesus is outside the door of the Laodicean church because He is not needed. The Laodiceans say, “I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.” (Rev 3:17)
o Despite
their material wealth and sense of self-sufficiency, Jesus (who has been left
outside the door) says that “you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.”
(Rev 3:17)
YOU
ARE POOR, YET YOU ARE RICH
o Contrast
this with
Appeal to greed
An ‘evangelist’ says, “If you give $100 you’ll get $1000 in return. If you give $1000, you’ll get $10000. If you give $2000, all your debts will be cancelled.” They appeal to the greed in people. The mentality is if you want something from people show them how they will profit from it.
A false gospel
Some prosperity teachers use the words of Jesus “he has
anointed me to preach good news to the poor” (Luke 4:18) to say that the good
news
(i.e. “gospel” [10]) was
that they could be rich. Paul’s definition of the gospel (i.e. the good news)
is “… the gospel… is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes…
For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is
by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by
faith.’” (Romans 1:16-17)
The following passage is often used out-of-context about giving money, but the context is clearly about giving forgiveness:
Luke 6:37-38 Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Are the prosperous more godly?
Was Jesus rich?
Was Jesus or his family rich as some prosperity preachers allege?
In the law God commanded a woman who had given birth to sacrifice a lamb, but if she was poor she could sacrifice 2 doves or 2 pigeons.
Lev
12:7-8 These are the regulations for the woman who gives birth to a boy or a
girl. If she cannot afford a lamb, she is to bring two doves or two young
pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering.
Note what Joseph and Mary offered (i.e. they could not afford a lamb.)
Luke
2:22-24 When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had
been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the
Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be
consecrated to the Lord”), and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is
said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”
Speaking of herself, Mary said that God “has filled the
hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.” (Lk 1:53). If Jesus
was rich, why would he ride on a borrowed donkey and be buried in a borrowed
tomb? If Jesus was rich from the gold given at his birth (as some claim) he
would not have needed to work as a carpenter. Archeological excavations of
Prosperity teachers say, “Jesus was not poor… Jesus had a nice house! John 1:38 says that Jesus turned to those that were following him and said, “Come with me.” And they said, “Where dwellest thou?” He said, “Come and see.” And Jesus took that whole crowd home with Him to stay in His house. That meant it was a big house!” [12] An examination of John 1:37-40 [13] reveals that Jesus invited only 2 men into the house and not a crowd. A house does not have to be very large for Jesus plus 2 men. Also there is no indication that he owned the house – it simply says he stayed there.
Did Jesus even have a house?
Jesus
replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man
has no place to lay his head.” (Matt 8:20)
If Jesus was rich, why did he get Peter to ‘fish’ for a coin to pay their temple tax; he should have already had it? (Matt 17:24-27)
In John’s Gospel, the Roman soldiers who crucified Jesus are depicted gambling for his ‘seamless’ undergarment. [14] Prosperity teachers claim that they were a nobleman’s garments. “If his clothes were a poor man’s clothes, why would centurions gamble for it?” they ask.
“It
was ordinary for prisoners to be stripped naked and looted by soldiers,” says
Sondra Ely Wheeler, an ethicist at Wesley Theological Seminary in
George Müller said, “It ill becomes the servant to seek to be rich, and great, and honoured in that world where his Lord was poor, and mean, and despised.”
Despite the conjecture of many, the Bible gives only one motive for Judas betraying Jesus – money.
Matt
26:14-15 Then… Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests and asked, “What are
you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” So they counted out for him
thirty silver coins. [15]
One prosperity teacher says, “The Bible says that He (Jesus) had a treasurer-a treasury; that they had one man who was the treasurer, named Judas Iscariot; and the rascal was stealing out of the bag for three-and-a-half years and nobody knew that he was stealing. You know why? Because there was so much in it, He couldn’t tell.”
Read the gospel of John. Nowhere does it say that they didn’t realise Judas was a thief. John attributes Judas’ comment about Mary’s anointing of Jesus feet to the fact that he was a thief, “He (Judas) did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.” (John 12:6) Besides if there was so much money in the bag, why was Judas tempted to betray Jesus for money? He already had a supply.
What about the early Church?
A Prosperity teacher says, “He [also] wants His children to eat the best, He wants them to wear the best clothing, He wants them to drive the best cars, and He wants them to have the best of everything.” [16]
Yet Paul writes “To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands.” (1 Cor 4:11-12)
The apostle Peter said to the lame man, “Silver or gold I do
not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,
walk.” (Acts 3:6) Most Western churches today cannot say, “Silver or gold I do
not have”. Neither can they say, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,
walk.”
Imagine the modern message going to the 2nd to 3rd century Church
What
Tertullian actually said!
And what
of the martyrs who died to give us the Bible in our own language?
What
Tyndale actually said!
And our
missionary martyrs who died fulfilling the Great Commission?
What Jim
Elliot actually said!
What of
the Missionary century?
One of the reasons that Torrey listed in his sermon, “Why God Used D.L. Moody” was Moody’s “His entire freedom from the love of money”:
The
fifth secret of D.L. Moody’s continual power and usefulness was his entire
freedom from the love of money. Mr. Moody might have been a wealthy man, but
money had no charms for him. He loved to gather money for God’s work; he
refused to accumulate money for himself. He told me during the World’s Fair
that if he had taken, for himself, the royalties on the hymnbooks which he had
published, they would have amounted, at that time, to a million dollars. But
Mr. Moody refused to touch the money… Millions of dollars passed into Mr. Moody
hands, but they passed through; they did not stick to his fingers.
Hudson Taylor wrote to his wife during one difficult time in the work of the China Inland Mission, “We have twenty-five cents – and all the promises of God!”
What
about the persecuted church?
The fastest growing churches in the world today are in
The world’s richest man (1995-2007)
The net worth of Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft Corporation, soared over $100B in the 90’s. For 13 years he topped the Forbes World’s Billionaires list until 2007. In 2008 he dropped to No.3, being worth a more modest $57B. In 2009 his net worth dropped to $40B but he regained the No.1 position (Warren Buffet dropping by $25B to $37B and Carlos Slim Helú dropping by $25B to $35B). [17]
In a 1995 interview, he was asked, “Do you believe in the Sermon on the Mount?” Gates responded, “I don’t. I’m not somebody who goes to church on a regular basis. The specific elements of Christianity are not something I’m a huge believer in. There’s a lot of merit in the moral aspects of religion. I think it can have a very, very positive impact.” [18]
Jesus
said in the Sermon on the Mount, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on
earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But
store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not
destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure
is, there your heart will be also.” (Matt 6:19-21)
The world’s richest man (2009)
According to TIME magazine: Melinda is Catholic, goes to church and wants to raise Jennifer that way. “
But she offered me a deal,” Gates says. “If I start going to
church - my family was Congregationalist - then Jennifer could be raised in
whatever religion I choose.”
Gates admits that he is tempted, because he would prefer she have a religion
that “has less theology and all” than Catholicism, but he has not yet taken up
the offer.
“Just in terms of allocation of time resources, religion is not very
efficient,” he explains. “There’s a lot more I could be doing on a Sunday
morning.” [19]
Jesus
said, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits
his soul?” (Matt 16:26 - NASB)
Jesus
also said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass
away.” (Matt 24:35)
Why do some ungodly men prosper?
Indeed many unrighteous men prosper. This was something that initially troubled Asaph until he “understood their final destiny”:
Psalm
73:2-26 But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my
foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from
the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills… This is what the
wicked are like— always carefree, they increase in wealth. Surely in vain have
I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence. All day long
I have been plagued; I have been punished every morning. If I had said, “I will
speak thus,” I would have betrayed your children. When I tried to understand
all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I
understood their final destiny. Surely you place them on slippery ground; you
cast them down to ruin. How suddenly are
they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors! As a dream when one awakes, so when you
arise, O Lord, you will despise them as fantasies… Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you
will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I
desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of
my heart and my portion forever.
Are the prosperous more godly?
It’s easy to preach a prosperity gospel in the affluent
West. Try preaching it to Christians in a Communist, Muslim or
There are many faithful believers who live modestly and will never have more than the basic necessities of life. Yet they are content to have what they have. The prosperity teachers ridicule such and say that they only have that little because they don’t trust God for more; the fact of their contentment (which is highly regarded by God) is looked upon as a lack of faith. And they are chastised because they haven’t got the faith to get more so they can give more. [20]
Prosperity – Biblical perspective
Concerning the last days, Paul writes, “There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be… lovers of money” (2 Tim 3:1-2).
Paul warns of a false doctrine of those who “think that godliness is a means to financial gain” i.e. the prosperity doctrine:
1
Tim 6:3-10 If anyone teaches false doctrines… men of corrupt mind, who have
been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial
gain… For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.
Yet the pastor of the largest American Mega church says “God wants us to prosper financially, to have plenty of money, to fulfill the destiny He has laid out for us” and “It’s God’s will for you to live in prosperity instead of poverty.”
Note the Biblical requirements for elders (i.e. overseers) and pastors (the word pastor means “shepherd”):
“Now
the overseer must be above reproach… not a lover of money.” (1 Tim 3:2)
“To
the elders among you… Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care,
serving as overseers - not because you must, but because you are willing… not
greedy for money” (1 Pet 5:1-2).
There is much in Luke’s gospel about money.
Luke
18:22-25 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell
everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.
Then come, follow me.”
When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth.
Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the
While the rich ruler in Luke 18 turns away when Jesus tells
him to “Sell everything you have and give to the
poor” in Luke 19 the wealthy, but sinful Zacchaeus says to Jesus, “Look, Lord!
Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated
anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” Jesus took
this as evidence of his repentance and responded, “Today salvation has come to
this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.”
Jesus said “You cannot serve both God and Money” (Luke 16:13). The young ruler had money as his God. While he claimed to have kept the 6 commandments concerning his relationship with people, he had failed in his relationship with God, “You shall have no other gods before me.” (Ex 20:3)
2 masters
CHALLENGE: Complete the following half-quoted verse:
Luke
16:13-15 “No servant can serve two masters. 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 both God and Money.”
Highly valued among men
After indicating that some people serve money in place of God, Luke goes on to say:
The
Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said
to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God
knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s
sight.” (Luke 16:14-15)
Listen to what Jesus had to say to a man who brought what may seem like a reasonable request to us – his brother refused to give him his share in the inheritance and he wanted Jesus to intervene:
Luke
12:13-14 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide
the inheritance with me.”
Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?”
Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed;
a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
The rich fool
Luke
12:16-19 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man
produced a good crop. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place
to store my crops.’
“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build
bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to
myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy;
eat, drink and be merry.”’
Luke
12:20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be
demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
Matt
16:26 “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits
his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?”
The beggar & the rich man
When Jesus talks of the beggar Lazarus and the rich man, it’s the poor Lazarus who goes to paradise while the rich man goes to hell. While the poor man never went to heaven because he was poor, Jesus clearly shows that the poor are not under God’s curse.
Luke
16:19-25 There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and
lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered
with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the
dogs came and licked his sores. The time came when the beggar died and the
angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In
hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with
Lazarus by his side.
Prov
21:13 If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not
be answered.
The poor widow and the rich people
Then Jesus commends the ‘poor widow’ in contrast to the ‘rich people’.
Luke 21:1-4 As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting
their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very
small copper coins. “I tell you the truth,” he said, “this poor widow has
put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their
wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
Mark tells us that “many rich people threw in large amounts” (Mark 12:41-44). Yet there is no rebuke from Jesus because the widow was poor.
Naked we come, naked we go
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth…But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven… (Matt 6:19-21)
I’ve seen many a hearse, but never one with a trailer behind.
When
he lost his wealth, Job said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I
will depart.” (Job 1:21)
Solomon
said something similar, “Naked a man comes from his mother’s womb, and as he
comes, so he departs. He takes nothing from his labor that he can carry in his
hand.” (Eccl 5:15)
1
Tim 6:7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of
it.
Spiritual barrenness
Luke also records Jesus words, “But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry.” (Luke 6:24-25)
Wealth is one of the things that can make you unfruitful and spiritually immature:
Luke
8:14 The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go
on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they
do not mature.
Matt
13:22 The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who
hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth
choke it, making it unfruitful.
The love of money can cause you to wander from the faith:
1
Tim 6:10-11 Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced
themselves with many griefs. But you, man of God, flee from all this, and
pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.
John Wesley said, “When I have money, I get rid of it quickly, lest it find a way into my heart.”
Sleep, greed & self-indulgence
The more wealth – the less sleep:
Eccl
5:12 The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the
abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep.
Riches tend to make people greedy and self-indulgent:
James
5:1-5 Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is
coming upon you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes.
Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and
eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The
wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out
against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord
Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have
fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.
Riches are fleeting
This year the world’s billionaires have an average net worth of $3B, down 23% in 12 months. The world has 793 billionaires, down from 1,125 a year ago… $1.4 trillion vanished… Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson came in at 261, with his fortune shrinking from $4.4B to $2.5B during the year. [21]
Prov
23:4-5 Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint.
Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout
wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.
Prov
11:28 Whoever trusts in his riches will fall…
1
Tim 6:17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant
nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but
to put their hope in God….
James
1:10-11 But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because
he will pass away like a wild flower. For the sun rises with scorching heat and
withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same
way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business.
Money cannot give your life meaning
One of the richest men who ever lived was King Solomon. He wrote in Ecclesiastes 2:4-11:
“I
undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. I
made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I bought
male and female slaves… I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in
Money can’t buy happiness
A very wealthy man was once asked how much more money would it take to make him happy? He answered, “One dollar more, always one dollar more.”
Reminds us of what Solomon wrote, “Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless.” (Eccl 5:10)
MONEY WILL BUY:
A
bed, but not sleep.
Books,
but not brains.
Food,
but not appetite.
A
house, but not a home.
Medicine,
but not health.
Pleasure,
but not joy.
Makeup,
but not beauty.
Companions,
but not real friends.
A
crucifix, but not a Saviour!
Dangers of the Health and wealth gospel
If people have a poor foundation (or root) in Biblical doctrine and believe that they should always be “healthy and wealthy”, when things go wrong, they can become disillusioned and fall away. This is why sound foundational doctrine is important
Matt
13:20-21 The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who
hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he
lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word,
he quickly falls away.
Matt
7:26-27 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice
is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the
streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with
a great crash.”
Let’s look at some views on positive confession and prosperity from:
The
Assemblies of God
Charismatics
The
Word-Faith pioneer Kenneth Hagin
A/G perspective
… the Assemblies of God issued an official statement in 1980
on “The Believer and Positive Confession”. It is a sound, balanced view of the
issues of faith, healing, miracles, prayer and the life of a believer.
The statement demonstrates how the excesses of the word-faith theology “are in
conflict with the Word of God”. It correctly points out that true biblical
faith considers the will and sovereignty of God which can be discerned from a
sound hermeneutic (i.e., rules of Bible interpretation).
In admirable pastoral concern, the statement concludes with, “God's Word does teach great truths such as healing, provision for need, faith, and the authority of believers. But these truths must always be considered in the framework of the total teaching of Scripture. When abuses occur, there is sometimes a temptation to draw back from these great truths of God's Word. The fact that doctrinal aberrations develop, however is not a reason for rejecting or remaining silent concerning them.” [22]
Dr. George Wood wrote about the many people he has seen who have experienced “devastating spiritual and psychological damage caused by the positive confession movement.”
He observes that there are 3 basic faulty assumptions controlling the “positive confession” theology.
1) God wills perfect health, total healing, and complete prosperity for every believer.
2) God has obligated Himself to heal every sickness and to financially prosper those who have faith.
3) Any failure is caused by a lack of faith or sin in the individual’s life.
Dr. Wood comments that these teachers “have missed the Bible
in three ways:
They twist particular verses out of their plain meaning; they refuse to deal
with Scriptures which plainly have different meanings than those of the
‘positive confession;’ and they fail to let the Bible speak for itself”. [23]
A Charismatic’s perspective
Well known charismatic, David Wilkerson (of “The Cross & the Switchblade” fame), writes in the late Keith Green’s Last Days Ministries newsletter, that he too has seen many Christians “throughout our nation, whose faith is shipwrecked” because of the ‘faith’ movement.”
He writes that they began to “believe that getting every desire of the heart depended simply on getting their formulas correct. They were challenged to launch out in God for prosperity, perfect health, and whatever else their minds could conceive. Conceive then believe. That includes removing from your vocabulary any negative thoughts, words, or confessions.”
Wilkerson comments, “My friends, that kind of theology is silly,” and proceeds to present the correct teaching about God’s nature and loving relationship in the believer’s life. [24]
Of course one of the most thorough, scholarly works done in
this area is the book “A Different Gospel”, written by D.R. McConnell of
Dr. Gordon Fee, theology professor at Gordon-Conwell seminary has dealt with the exegetical and interpretive errors of the health and wealth teachings in two articles, one published in The Pentecostal Evangel and the other in Agora, which have been combined into a booklet titled, “The Disease of the Health and Wealth Gospels”. Fee points out in passage after passage that those who accept the word-faith teaching are doing so because they want to and because it appeals to man’s base selfish desires. No one can possibly come to their conclusions based on an accurate exegesis and historical view of the Bible. [26]
Dr. Charles Farah, Jr. was Professor of Theology and Historical Studies at Oral Roberts University and wrote an excellent article for Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies titled, “A Critical Analysis: The ‘Roots and Fruits’ of Faith-Formula Theology”. He summarizes his article by noting, “The movement… shares many of the goals of present day humanism, particularly in regards to the creaturely comforts.” [27]
Kenneth Hagin’s Forgotten Warning
Before he died in 2003, the revered father of the Word-Faith
movement corrected his spiritual sons for going to extremes with their message
of prosperity. Charismatic Bible teacher Kenneth Hagin Sr. is considered the
father of the so-called prosperity gospel. The folksy, self-trained “Dad Hagin”
started a grass-roots movement in
including Kenneth Copeland, Jerry Savelle, Charles Capps, Jesse DuPlantis,
Creflo Dollar and dozens of others - all of whom teach that Christians who give
generously should expect financial rewards on this side of heaven. [28]
Hagin taught that God was not glorified by poverty and that
preachers do not have to be poor. But before he died in 2003 and left his
He was not happy that some of his followers were manipulating the Bible to
support what he viewed as greed and selfish indulgence. Those who were close to
Hagin Sr. say he was passionate about correcting these abuses before he died.
In fact, he wrote a brutally honest book to address his concerns. The Midas
Touch was published in 2000, a year after the infamous
1) Financial
prosperity is not a sign of God’s blessing. Hagin wrote: “If wealth alone were
a sign of spirituality, then drug traffickers and crime bosses would be
spiritual giants. Material wealth can be connected to the blessings of God or
it can be totally disconnected from the blessings of God.”
2) People
should never give in order to get. Hagin was critical of those who “try to make
the offering plate some kind of heavenly vending machine.” He denounced those
who link giving to getting, especially those who give cars to get new cars or
who give suits to get new suits. He wrote: “There is no spiritual formula to
sow a Ford and reap a Mercedes.”
3) It
is not biblical to “name your seed” in an offering. Hagin was horrified by this
practice, which was popularized in faith conferences during the 1980s. Faith
preachers sometimes tell donors that when they give in an offering they should
claim a specific benefit to get a blessing in return. Hagin rejected this idea
and said that focusing on what you are going to receive “corrupts the very
attitude of our giving nature.”
4) The
“hundredfold return” is not a biblical concept. Hagin did the math and figured
out that if this bizarre notion were true, “we would have Christians walking
around with not billions or trillions of dollars, but quadrillions of dollars!”
He rejected the popular teaching that a believer should claim a specific
monetary payback rate.
5) Preachers who claim to have a “debt-breaking” anointing should not be trusted. Hagin was perplexed by ministers who promise “supernatural debt cancellation” to those who give in certain offerings. He wrote in The Midas Touch: [30] “There is not one bit of Scripture I know about that validates such a practice. I’m afraid it is simply a scheme to raise money for the preacher, and ultimately it can turn out to be dangerous and destructive for all involved.” [31]
(Many evangelists who appear on Christian television today use this bogus
claim. Usually they insist that the miraculous debt cancellation will occur
only if a person “gives right now,” as if the anointing for this miracle
suddenly evaporates after the prime time viewing hour. This manipulative claim
is more akin to witchcraft than Christian belief.) [32]
Hagin condemned other harebrained gimmicks designed to trick
audiences into emptying their wallets. He was especially incensed when a
preacher told his radio listeners that he would take their prayer requests to
Jesus’ empty tomb in
Hagin told his followers: “Overemphasizing or adding to what the Bible actually teaches invariably does more harm than good.” If the man who pioneered the modern concept of biblical prosperity blew the whistle on his own movement, wouldn’t it make sense for us to listen to his admonition? [34]
Money – the balance
However we mustn’t let the prosperity excesses detract from the fact that God does expect us to give and does bless some materially so that they may have a special gift of giving:
Rom
12:6-8 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s
gift… is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously…
There were wealthy men in the Bible like Abraham, Job and
the godly kings of
1
Tim 6:17-19 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be
arrogant… Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous
and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a
firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that
is truly life.
In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul does use the principle of sowing and reaping to refer to a material harvest and to indicate that full time ministers are entitled to support. (He does take pains though to indicate that he himself had forfeited this right to prevent any hindrance to their ministry.)
1
Cor 9:4-14 Don’t we have the right to food and drink?… Or is it only I and
Barnabas who must work for a living? Who serves as a soldier at his own
expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its grapes? Who tends a
flock and does not drink of the milk? Do I say this merely from a human point
of view? Doesn’t the Law say the same thing? For it is written in the Law of
Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” Is it about
oxen that God is concerned? Surely he says this for us, doesn’t he? Yes, this
was written for us, because when the plowman plows and the thresher threshes,
they ought to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest. If we have sown
spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from
you? If others have this right of support from you, shouldn’t we have it all
the more? But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with
anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ. Don’t you know that those who
work in the temple get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the
altar share in what is offered on the altar? In the same way, the Lord has
commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the
gospel.
Likewise in 2 Corinthians 9 Paul uses the seed analogy when
collecting money to help the struggling church in
2
Cor 9:5-6 So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to visit you in
advance and finish the arrangements for the generous gift you had promised.
Then it will be ready as a generous gift, not as one grudgingly given. Remember
this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever
sows generously will also reap generously.
There should be no coercion used:
2
Cor 9:7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not
reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver…
Paul continues to show that when God blesses us financially it is so that we “can be generous on every occasion” i.e. it is not so that we can self-indulge in extravagant lifestyles, but for “supplying the needs of God’s people” and helping the poor.
2
Cor 9:10-12 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also
supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your
righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous
on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving
to God. This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s
people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.
Prov
19:17 He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for
what he has done.
Prov
14:31 He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is
kind to the needy honors God.
“Do not think me mad. It is not to make money that I believe a Christian should live. The noblest thing a man can do is, just humbly to receive, and then go amongst others and give.” (David Livingstone)
We are simply stewards i.e. our money belongs to God and we administer it. Jesus uses the parable of the shrewd manager to emphasize our stewardship with regards to “our money”:
Luke
16:9-12 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that
when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. Whoever can be
trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is
dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not
been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true
riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who
will give you property of your own?
After telling the parable of the rich fool, Jesus again refers to the fact that we are stewards:
Luke
12:21 But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life will be
demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?”
This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not
rich toward God.
Money – Biblical perspective
The secret is contentment, not riches:
Phil
4:11-13 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be
content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know
what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any
and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in
want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
1
Tim 6:6-9 But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing
into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and
clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into
temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men
into ruin and destruction.
Heb
13:5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you
have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
Agur
prays “… give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.
Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I
may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God. (Prov 30:8-9)
A warning and an invite
Living in Laodicea
During his farewell speech, Thomas E. Trask, the former U.S.
Assemblies of God General Superintendent, encouraged the largest Pentecostal
denomination in the world to uphold righteousness and reject all forms of sin.
“What many churches are offering
The warning
Jesus gives us a warning about continuation in this condition.
Rev
3:16 So, because you are lukewarm -neither hot nor cold - I am about to spit
you out of my mouth.
The warning is coupled with an exhortation:
Rev
3:18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich;
and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve
to put on your eyes, so you can see.
Despite the warning Jesus reminds us that this church is still loved:
Rev
3:19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.
The invite
What is the special word Jesus has for our rich, materialistic & lukewarm churches?
Rev
3:20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and
opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.
Rev
3:21-22 To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my
throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who
has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”