I have wrote many times, probably more than any other subject, on the "prosperity gospel".
For some odd reason it is a common topic in conversation with friends.
I am saddened that so many people I know are following or believe the false things this pseudo-gospel claims, seemingly without even studying their theology and grasping for out of context, far stretching case points.
It is upsetting that so many people cling to the grave of this message by claiming things like...Jesus was rich while on earth!!!You know why?
He had a seamless garment! In fact Jesus wore clothes so expensive that the Roman soldiers who crucified him gambled for them!He rode an unridden colt! He had a treasurer! Kings brought him gold!
Why all this argument that Jesus was rich? If He was on earth it must mean that is what He wants us to have.
I have been reading with my Small Group the book "Don't Waste Your Life". This book has been so powerful in my life. It has helped me keep perspective and pointed me back to Christ as my satisfaction...not what I can get from him.
At the risk of no one reading this a doing a blogging sin, I am going to post a semi-large portion of DWYL chapter 7 - "Living to Prove That He is More Precious Than Life" dealing with how we use money. This chapter challenges me greatly!
How Not to Betray Jesus
If Christ is an all-satisfying treasure and promises to provide all
our needs, even through famine and nakedness, then to live as
though we had all the same values as the world would betray
him. I have in mind mainly how we use our money and how we
feel about our possessions. I hear the haunting words of Jesus,
“Do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall
we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after
all these things” (Matthew 6:31-32). In other words, if we look
like our lives are devoted to getting and maintaining things, we
will look like the world, and that will not make Christ look
great. He will look like a religious side-interest that may be useful
for escaping hell in the end, but doesn’t make much difference
in what we live and love here. He will not look like an
all-satisfying treasure. And that will not make others glad in
God.
If we are exiles and refugees on earth (1 Peter 2:11), and if
our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20), and if nothing can
separate us from the love of Christ (Romans 8:35), and if his
steadfast love is better than life (Psalm 63:3), and if all hardship
is working for us an eternal weight of glory (2 Corinthians 4:17),
then we will give to the winds our fears and “seek first the kingdom
of God and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). We will
count everything as rubbish in comparison with Christ
(Philippians 3:7-8). We will “joyfully accept the plundering of
our property” for the sake of unpopular acts of mercy (Hebrews
10:34). We will choose “ rather to be mistreated with the people
of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin,” and we will
count “the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures
of Egypt” (Hebrews 11:25-26).
Why Don’t People Ask Us About Our Hope?
There is no doubt that if we lived more like this, the world
would be more likely to consider whether Jesus is an all-satisfying
Treasure. He would look like one. When was the last
time someone asked you about “the reason for the hope that
is in you”? That’s what Peter said we should always be ready
to give an answer for: “Always be prepared to make a defense
to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in
you” (1 Peter 3:15).
Why don’t people ask us about our hope?
The answer is probably that we look as if we hope in the same things they do.
Our lives don’t look like they are on the Calvary road, stripped
down for sacrificial love, serving others with the sweet assurance
that we don’t need to be rewarded in this life. Our reward is
great in heaven (Matthew 5:12)! “You will be repaid at the resurrection
of the just” (Luke 14:14). If we believed this more
deeply, others might see the worth of God and find in him their
gladness.
The Credibility of Christ Hangs on How We Use Our Money
The issue of money and lifestyle is not a side issue in the Bible.
The credibility of Christ in the world hangs on it. “Fifteen percent
of everything Christ said relates to this topic—more than his
teachings on heaven and hell combined.”1 Listen to this refrain
that runs all through his teachings:
• “You lack one thing: go, sell all you have and give to the
poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow
me” (Mark 10:21).
• “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of
God. . . . But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your
consolation” (Luke 6:20, 24).
• “Any of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot
be my disciple” (Luke 14:33).
• “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” (Luke
18:25).
• “One’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions”
(Luke 12:15).
• “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and
all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).
• “Sell your possessions and give to the needy. Provide yourselves
with moneybags . . . in the heavens” (Luke 12:33).
Living to Prove He Is More Precious Than Life
• “Zacchaeus . . . said to the Lord, ‘Behold, Lord, the half of
my goods I give to the poor. . . .’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Today
salvation has come to this house’” (Luke 19:8-9).
• “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field,
which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and
sells all that he has and buys that field” (Matthew 13:44).
• “[Jesus] saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins.
And he said, ‘Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more
than all of them’” (Luke 21:2-3).
• “But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is
required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will
they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not
rich toward God” (Luke 12:20-21).
• “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the
Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. . . . Follow me” (Luke
9:58-59).
Hazardous Liberality
Over and over Jesus is relentless in his radical call to a wartime
lifestyle and a hazardous liberality. I say “hazardous” because of
that story about the widow. She gave her last penny to the temple
ministry. Most of us would call her foolish or, more delicately,
imprudent. But there is not a word of criticism from Jesus:
And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins,
which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and
said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put
in more than all those who are contributing to the offering
box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she
out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had
to live on.” (Mark 12:42-44, emphasis added)
The point here is not that everyone should give everything
away. The point is: Jesus loves faith-filled risk for the glory of
God. I don’t have laws to give you concerning the particulars of
how to spend your money, any more than Jesus did. I simply
want to point to Jesus and let his word have its shocking and saving
effect on us.
Use Money to Show That God, Not Possessions,
Is Our Treasure
Jesus’ emphasis on money and possessions is picked up throughout
the New Testament. There are the stories in the book of Acts
(“They were selling their possessions . . . and distributing the
proceeds . . . as any had need,” Acts 2:45). There are the words
of the apostle Paul (“In a severe test of affliction, their abundance
of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of
generosity. . . . God loves a cheerful giver,” 2 Corinthians 8:2;
9:7). There are the words of James, the brother of Jesus (“Its
flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade
away in the midst of his pursuits,” James 1:11).
The issue is pervasive because it is crucial for the witness of
the church. If we want to make people glad in God, our lives
must look as if God, not possessions, is our joy. Our lives must
look as if we use our possessions to make people glad in God—
especially the most needy.
AMEN!!!
If Christ is an all-satisfying treasure and promises to provide all
our needs, even through famine and nakedness, then to live as
though we had all the same values as the world would betray
him. I have in mind mainly how we use our money and how we
feel about our possessions. I hear the haunting words of Jesus,
“Do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall
we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after
all these things” (Matthew 6:31-32). In other words, if we look
like our lives are devoted to getting and maintaining things, we
will look like the world, and that will not make Christ look
great. He will look like a religious side-interest that may be useful
for escaping hell in the end, but doesn’t make much difference
in what we live and love here. He will not look like an
all-satisfying treasure. And that will not make others glad in
God.
If we are exiles and refugees on earth (1 Peter 2:11), and if
our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20), and if nothing can
separate us from the love of Christ (Romans 8:35), and if his
steadfast love is better than life (Psalm 63:3), and if all hardship
is working for us an eternal weight of glory (2 Corinthians 4:17),
then we will give to the winds our fears and “seek first the kingdom
of God and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). We will
count everything as rubbish in comparison with Christ
(Philippians 3:7-8). We will “joyfully accept the plundering of
our property” for the sake of unpopular acts of mercy (Hebrews
10:34). We will choose “ rather to be mistreated with the people
of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin,” and we will
count “the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures
of Egypt” (Hebrews 11:25-26).
Why Don’t People Ask Us About Our Hope?
There is no doubt that if we lived more like this, the world
would be more likely to consider whether Jesus is an all-satisfying
Treasure. He would look like one. When was the last
time someone asked you about “the reason for the hope that
is in you”? That’s what Peter said we should always be ready
to give an answer for: “Always be prepared to make a defense
to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in
you” (1 Peter 3:15).
Why don’t people ask us about our hope?
The answer is probably that we look as if we hope in the same things they do.
Our lives don’t look like they are on the Calvary road, stripped
down for sacrificial love, serving others with the sweet assurance
that we don’t need to be rewarded in this life. Our reward is
great in heaven (Matthew 5:12)! “You will be repaid at the resurrection
of the just” (Luke 14:14). If we believed this more
deeply, others might see the worth of God and find in him their
gladness.
The Credibility of Christ Hangs on How We Use Our Money
The issue of money and lifestyle is not a side issue in the Bible.
The credibility of Christ in the world hangs on it. “Fifteen percent
of everything Christ said relates to this topic—more than his
teachings on heaven and hell combined.”1 Listen to this refrain
that runs all through his teachings:
• “You lack one thing: go, sell all you have and give to the
poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow
me” (Mark 10:21).
• “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of
God. . . . But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your
consolation” (Luke 6:20, 24).
• “Any of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot
be my disciple” (Luke 14:33).
• “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” (Luke
18:25).
• “One’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions”
(Luke 12:15).
• “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and
all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).
• “Sell your possessions and give to the needy. Provide yourselves
with moneybags . . . in the heavens” (Luke 12:33).
Living to Prove He Is More Precious Than Life
• “Zacchaeus . . . said to the Lord, ‘Behold, Lord, the half of
my goods I give to the poor. . . .’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Today
salvation has come to this house’” (Luke 19:8-9).
• “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field,
which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and
sells all that he has and buys that field” (Matthew 13:44).
• “[Jesus] saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins.
And he said, ‘Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more
than all of them’” (Luke 21:2-3).
• “But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is
required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will
they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not
rich toward God” (Luke 12:20-21).
• “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the
Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. . . . Follow me” (Luke
9:58-59).
Hazardous Liberality
Over and over Jesus is relentless in his radical call to a wartime
lifestyle and a hazardous liberality. I say “hazardous” because of
that story about the widow. She gave her last penny to the temple
ministry. Most of us would call her foolish or, more delicately,
imprudent. But there is not a word of criticism from Jesus:
And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins,
which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and
said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put
in more than all those who are contributing to the offering
box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she
out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had
to live on.” (Mark 12:42-44, emphasis added)
The point here is not that everyone should give everything
away. The point is: Jesus loves faith-filled risk for the glory of
God. I don’t have laws to give you concerning the particulars of
how to spend your money, any more than Jesus did. I simply
want to point to Jesus and let his word have its shocking and saving
effect on us.
Use Money to Show That God, Not Possessions,
Is Our Treasure
Jesus’ emphasis on money and possessions is picked up throughout
the New Testament. There are the stories in the book of Acts
(“They were selling their possessions . . . and distributing the
proceeds . . . as any had need,” Acts 2:45). There are the words
of the apostle Paul (“In a severe test of affliction, their abundance
of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of
generosity. . . . God loves a cheerful giver,” 2 Corinthians 8:2;
9:7). There are the words of James, the brother of Jesus (“Its
flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade
away in the midst of his pursuits,” James 1:11).
The issue is pervasive because it is crucial for the witness of
the church. If we want to make people glad in God, our lives
must look as if God, not possessions, is our joy. Our lives must
look as if we use our possessions to make people glad in God—
especially the most needy.
AMEN!!!
You can read all of Don't Waste Your Life book online here
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