Prosperity Gospel, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Some are all for it…some are completely against it. Fancy cars, multi-million dollar homes, expensive designer clothes. What is prosperity gospel? Who preaches prosperity gospel? Get ready to know everything about prosperity gospel, the good, the bad and the ugly.

What is Prosperity Gospel?

This is what Wikipedia has to say about prosperity gospel:

Prosperity theology (sometimes referred to as the prosperity gospel, the health and wealth gospel, the gospel of success or seed faith) is a religious belief among some Christians, who hold that financial blessing and physical well-being are always the will of God for them, and that faith, positive speech, and donations to religious causes will increase one’s material wealth. Prosperity theology views the Bible as a contract between God and humans: if humans have faith in God, he will deliver security and prosperity.
Wikipedia

People that preach and support the prosperity gospel believe in God’s favor and God’s blessing to help them succeed in every single area of their lives but especially financially and in health.

Who are the prosperity gospel preachers?

There are a lot of pastors that have been associated with the “prosperity gospel” but just to name a few of the most influencial ones we have:

Kenneth and Gloria Copeland
Jesse Duplantis
Creflo Dollar
Joel Osteen
TD Jakes
Oral Roberts
Joyce Meyer
Paula White
Jerry Savelle
Kenneth Hagin
Bill Winston

What does the bible say about it?

Whether you are for or against the prosperity gospel you can find bible scriptures that supports both.

People that support it may use this Bible verse:

The blessing of the LORD makes a person rich, and he adds no sorrow with it.
Proverbs 10:22

People that are completely against it may use this Bible verse:

In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”
Mark 10:25

So which one is right? The answer is that both of them are right. The Word of God is truth and is forever settled in the heavens so it never changes.

We have The Holy Spirit in us and He brings revelation of His word.

When you read a Bible verse, you get in your spirit what The Lord is saying to you about it. You come back to that verse after a while and The Lord may reveal something completely new about that verse

There was a hidden knowledge that you were not able to see the first time you read that verse until it was revealed to you by The Holy Spirit the second time.

The more you seek The Lord and the more you study The Word of God, the more revelation you will get of His word.

So, just because a person got a revelation FROM THE LORD on a certain Bible verse and you didn’t, it does not make that person wrong.

When did properity gospel begin?

Some say, prosperity gospel began in 1950s in the United Stated and some say it started in the 1960s.

It is said that it all started with Oral Roberts and Kenneth Hagin Sr. during the “Faith and Healing” movement and it grew from there.

Is prosperity gospel heresy?

According to the Webster’s dictionary heresy is :
an opinion, doctrine, or practice contrary to the truth or to generally accepted beliefs or standards.

Now, in order for me to say if it is heresy or not I have to be able to know all the truth…all of it!

Even though I have studied the Word of God for many years, the only thing I know for sure is that I do not know all the truth.

But, thank God for the Holy Spirit because He leads us into all truth! So I leave it to The Holy Spirit to judge whether prosperity gospel is heresy or not.

So be led by The Holy Spirit inside of you. If you are listening, He will tell you what is truth and what is not.

There are some teachings by very goofy people that are heresy and The Holy Spirit will let you know which ones they are. So just be sensitive to the Holy Spirit guidance and you will be ok.

Prosperity Gospel, The Good

I am a mom of 2 boys, and I love them with all my heart. I think they are one of the most precious gifts The Lord has given me.

I do my best to keep my boys healthy, strong and happy. It is never my will to see my boys sick. It is never my will to see my boys sad. It is never my will to see my boys suffer.

It is my desire that my boys grow up and have great jobs, for them to live in beautiful homes, for them to have happy marriages, for them not to have any financial troubles but above all I want them to be godly men.

Men that love God with all their heart and put Him first in everything they do.

I know, with all my heart that God is a better parent that I am! So, I know for sure that God wants the best for us for 3 reasons:

All good things come from God. (James 1:17)
God is good. (Psalm 119:68)
God is love. (1 John 4:16

I think the good thing about prosperity gospel is the focus on God’s love and good will for us.

I know He wants me to be healthy, nobody wants to see their babies suffer with sickness. His love for us is too great, He only wants the best for us.

Jesus spent a lot time healing people. So many times He was moved with compassion. It was His will to heal ALL the sick so they could be healthy.

I know He wants me to be prosperous, because I want that for my boys also. He wants me to prosper so I can be a blessing to others!

Our Daddy God wants us to be happy, He wants good things for us and nobody can deny that.

Another aspect of the prosperity gospel is the sowing and reaping. This is as simple as you reap what you sow. It is scriptural.

It is very important for you not to misunderstand the reason why you are giving

When you give, you need to do it from your heart. You need to do it because God put it in your heart and you want to be obedient. You want to do it because it makes you happy to bless others.

If you are giving, tithing, sowing just so you can get a return on your “investment” let me tell you that sadly, your heart is in the wrong place and you are wrong.

Prosperity Gospel, The Bad

I think the way “God’s goodness and blessing” have been portrayed is the ugly part of prosperity gospel.

Many preachers have used it to trick people into giving them money for their own financial gain. That’s why many people see prosperity gospel as a scam.

You have to be on the look out, even in “Christian channels” you can find goofy people calling themselves pastors, and prophets and apostles that all they do is take advantage of people that don’t study The Word of God.

Just FYI, if someone is asking you for money in exchange for God’s healing don’t fall for it. They are trying to trick you. This is what the bible says:

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Isaiah 53:5

Jesus paid the price for our healing, you don’t have to pay anymore. Just have faith and believe it!

You can read more on How to have faith here.

If someone is asking you for money in exchange for the blessing of God, don’t be a fool. This is what the Bible says:

Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse;
The blessing if ye hear the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day,
Deuteronomy 11:27

And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work
2 Corinthians 9:8

So, please don’t pay for something that is already yours. Instead, focus on being a doer of The Word of God. Focus on having a personal relationship with God.

Prosperity Gospel, The Ugly

I have heard Christians criticizing man and women of God because they don’t agree with their teachings.

I think the ugly part is the part that we do, the judging and the pointing fingers.

People see a pastor driving a nice car or having a beautiful home and they automatically think that he must be taking money from the church.

Do you know how much that pastor has sown in order to have what he has? (seed time and harvest)

Do you know if what you see is a gift that someone gave him? Why would he turn down a gift that someone wanted to bless him with?

Do you know how many years he has been faithfully serving God? Or if he has his own business on the side? Or if he wrote a book that The Holy Spirit guided him to do in order to bless him and he made all his money that way?

It is not up to us to judge. If you don’t agree with what a certain person is preaching then don’t go to his church, don’t listen to his preaching and don’t befriend him on facebook.

Don’t be offended, move on with your life, leave the things that don’t bless you and grab ahold of the things that do.

Only judge if you are free of sin.

2For with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 3Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but fail to notice the beam in your own eye?
Matthew 7:2-3

In conclusion

There are a lot of great teachers of The Word of God that have been categorized as prosperity preachers.

There are also a lot of people taking advantage of the lack of knowledge of the body of Christ.

Here are a few easy steps that will keep you from being deceived:

Have a personal relationship with God.
Get knowledge. Study the word of God.
Don’t take people’s word for it, always go back to what The Bible says.
Be led by The Spirit of God.
Pray and ask for revelation of His Word.
Know what is yours so you won’t be tricked into paying for it.
When you give, do it from your heart not because of what you are going to get in return.

That last one was a freebie!😉

I have been blessed and have learned a lot by people like Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, Jesse Duplantis, Oral Roberts, Joyce Meyer, Kenneth Hagin Sr., Jerry Savelle and Bill Winston.

Does that mean that I agree with everything they say and do? no

But I do respect them as men and women of God and I appreciate the way that God uses them to bless me. Also, the work that they did or are doing by reaching the world with the gospel.

You shall know them by their fruits
Matthew 7:16

When you believe in God’s love for you, then you will believe in His favor and His blessing. You will see that maybe there is some truth in what people call “prosperity gospel”.