What does the Bible say about the Prosperity Gospel / Word of Faith Movement | GotQuestions.org

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Today's question is, what does the Bible say about the prosperity gospel? In this video I'll answer that question from a biblical perspective.

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Afterwards, as always, I'll share some helpful resources, so stick around until the end. In the prosperity gospel, also known as the

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Word of Faith movement, the believer is told to use God, whereas the truth of biblical Christianity is just the opposite—God uses the believer.

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Prosperity theology sees the Holy Spirit as a power to be put to use for whatever the believer wills.

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The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit is a person who enables the believer to do God's will.

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The prosperity gospel movement closely resembles some of the destructive greed sects that infiltrated the early

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Church. Paul and the other apostles were not accommodating to or conciliatory with the false teachers who propagated such heresy.

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They identified them as dangerous false teachers and urged Christians to avoid them. Paul warned

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Timothy about such men in 1 Timothy 6, 5, 9 -11. These men of corrupt minds supposed godliness was a means of gain, and their desire for riches was a trap that brought them into ruin and destruction.

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Verse 9, The pursuit of wealth is a dangerous path for Christians, and one which God warns about. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.

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Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

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Verse 10, If riches were a reasonable goal for the godly, Jesus would have pursued it, but he did not, preferring instead to have no place to lay his head.

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Matthew 8, 20, and teaching his disciples to do the same. It should also be remembered that the only disciple concerned with wealth was

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Judas. Paul said covetousness is idolatry. Ephesians 5, 5, and instructed the

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Ephesians to avoid anyone who brought a message of immorality or covetousness. Ephesians 5, 6 -7.

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Prosperity teaching prohibits God from working on His own, meaning that God is not Lord of all because He cannot work until we release

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Him to do so. Faith, according to the Word of Faith doctrine, is not submissive trust in God.

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Faith is a formula by which we manipulate the spiritual laws that prosperity teachers believe govern the universe.

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As the name Word of Faith implies, this movement teaches that faith is a matter of what we say, more than whom we trust or what truths we embrace and affirm in our hearts.

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A favorite term of prosperity gospel teachers is positive confession. This refers to the teaching that words themselves have creative power.

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What you say, prosperity teachers claim, determines everything that happens to you. Your confessions, especially the favors you demand of God, must all be stated positively and without wavering.

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Then God is required to answer, as though man could require anything of God. Thus, God's ability to bless us supposedly hangs on our faith.

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James 4, verses 13 -16 clearly contradicts this teaching. Now listen, you who say, today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business, and make money.

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Why? You do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while, then vanishes.

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Far from speaking things into existence in the future, we do not even know what tomorrow will bring or even whether we will be alive.

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Instead of stressing the importance of wealth, the Bible warns against pursuing it. Believers, especially leaders in the

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Church, 1 Timothy 3, verse 3, are to be free from the love of money, Hebrews 13, verse 5.

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The love of money leads to all kinds of evil, 1 Timothy 6, verse 10. Jesus warned,

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Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed. A man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions,

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Luke 12, verse 15. In sharp contrast to the prosperity gospel emphasis on gaining money and possessions in this life,

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Jesus said, Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal,

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Matthew 6, verse 19. The irrevocable contradictions between prosperity, teaching, and the gospel of our

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Lord Jesus Christ is best summed up in the words of Jesus in Matthew 6, verse 24, You cannot serve both

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God and money. Want to learn more? Subscribe so you don't miss the next video! Visit GotQuestions .org

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for more great content. And check out the details section below this video, there is one book I recommend, along with several related articles.

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