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Prosperity Gospel: A Case Study. Paul Landhuis John SeCheverell Sam Dowty. Scripture. Malachi 3:8-12 Tithes and offerings are given in exchange for material blessing by God. Luke 6:37-38 “Give and it will be given to you” Philippians 4:17-19
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Prosperity Gospel: A Case Study Paul Landhuis John SeCheverell Sam Dowty
Scripture • Malachi 3:8-12 • Tithes and offerings are given in exchange for material blessing by God. • Luke 6:37-38 • “Give and it will be given to you” • Philippians 4:17-19 • Paul writes that those who gave will be given “riches in glory in Christ Jesus”
Scripture • Matthew 6:19-24 • You cannot serve both God and money • Tresure in heaven, not earth • 1 Timothy 6:6-10 • Preaching and teaching can make one wealthy • We should not preach for wealth • We should remain in contentment with food and clothes • Money leads one to sin
Reason • 1. God is good • 2. Therefore God would want good things for His people • 3. God is all powerful • 4. Therefore what God wants He can have • 5. Health and wealth are good • 6. Therefore God can and will give health and wealth to His people.
Contentions • The alteration between God desiring something and doing something creates a non sequitur argument • It may be that he can do something and stays his hand • Problematic fifth argument • Prevalence of sin amongst the wealthy • Health and wealth oft the result of birth not faith
Reason • Therefore we can say that it is impossible to state with certainty that health and wealth are positive things in the eyes of God or man, and faith is not the primary factor regarding their distribution. Ergo, we cannot say decisively that this argument is true, and indeed it is most probably false.
Altered argument • 1. God values His kingdom • 2. Therefore God would want to aid His kingdom • 3. God is all powerful • 4. Therefore what God wants He can have • 5. Healthy and wealthy followers would aid Kingdom • 6. Ergo, God can and will give health and wealth to some of his people
Reason • The argument remains that God does not always do what he desires (do to human freewill, the fallen state of creation etc.) • However by making this a generalized argument (not applicable to all believers but as a rule of thumb) this argument loses its potency • Primary point of contention would be the fifth argument
Reason • Health and wealth are valuable to the kingdom • Hospitals, mission trips, churches etc. all require funds • However, it should be noted that some of the most honored people in Christianity were poor (Jesus, Paul, Anslem etc.) • Therefore, just as wealth does not denote faithfulness, neither does poverty denote unfaithfulness.
Reason • To conclude, faithfulness tend to bring about greater material wealth • Lack of extreme vice is helpful in keeping work • God blesses many of His faithful followers with material gain. • That being said all that we have has been given to us for His Kingdom, not our comfort.
Conclusion • Therefore we say that the prosperity Gospel, as it is commonly articulated, is resoundingly false. We say that Christ did not become flesh and die a sinners death so that we could be wealthy, but that man would be reconciled back to God. So therefore whatever wealth we happen to come across in this life, is to be used for that purpose. Thanks be to God.
