thoughts on the gospel...part 2

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” Matthew 6: 19-21

I know that it seems I am beating a dead horse here...but...as I shared in a previous blog post the real gospel is a totally stand alone item. As I also said nothing gets added...nothing taken away. However the temptation is so great that many feel the need to add their own unique touch which immediately invalidates anything they have to say or do in relation to the gospel message. They re-image...reduce...remix...re-brand...and reintroduce the gospel as their own interpretation and set out to intentionally deceive others. In Acts 20: 29-30, Paul warned,
“I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.”
Even today this rings as true as in the time of Paul...wolves continue to roam and prowl freely in plain sight within the confines of many of our churches. No bigger false gospel has ever been created to deceive so many innocents as the “prosperity gospel”. This a totally false teaching that states...that believers have a right to the blessings of health and wealth and that they can obtain these blessings through positive confessions of faith and the "sowing of seeds" through the faithful payments of tithes and offerings. It has been claimed that prosperity's ultimate purpose is to fund evangelism and various Christian charities worldwide, however critics argue that most all evidence has shown that the accumulation of wealth and material goods does not serve the purpose of the Gospel. We aren't entirely blind...we can readily see where a lot of the money is going...uh...the preachers pockets. Their lavish lifestyles and so called ministries are being funded on the backs of their conned supporters. All we have to do is turn the TV on to any of several religious channels and immediately see some of the heavy hitters in action speaking such outright lies I am sometimes amazed at their audacity. I think the bigger question for me is...how in the world can this keep happening? How can people be so blinded and deaf to the antics and the endless barrage of false teaching from these imposters? I am reminded of this verse...
"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths" (2 Tim. 4:3-4).
There are really several factors at work here. The teaching style of these wolves that Paul spoke of in Acts is indeed very charming, seductive, pretty close to what we know of the bible, cunning and quite dangerous as they take advantage of the almost universally undiscerning audiences. These false teachers promise that you can overcome fear, guilt and psychological hang-ups, even alcoholism, through anything but the true gospel. They also give one the impression that they have a very intimate...up close and personal... relationship with God and often report having many visions, encounters and conversations with Him. They assure their audiences that if they give money...lots of money... they too can become more intimate with God. How ridiculous and further from the truth can anything be. Once again you have a sect within the larger body of Christianity that has taken selected scriptures totally out of context and fashioned their false theology around them. Sadly, this is done a lot and those who operate in this manner take advantage in the worst possible way of peoples ignorance of the entirety of the bible. There have been numerous critics of the teachings of the prosperity gospel and the many well known names espousing this corrupt pseudo-gospel. I think John Piper states it very well when he says,
“Paul said we should not steal. The alternative was hard work with our own hands. But the main purpose was not merely to hoard or even to have. The purpose was “to have to give.” “Let him labor, working with his hands, that he may have to give to him who is in need” (Ephesians 4:28). This is not a justification for being rich in order to give more. It is a call to make more and keep less so you can give more. There is no reason why a person who makes $200,000 should live any differently from the way a person who makes $80,000 lives. Find a wartime lifestyle; cap your expenditures; then give the rest away. Why would you want to encourage people to think that they should possess wealth in order to be a lavish giver? Why not encourage them to keep their lives more simple and be an even more lavish giver? Would that not add to their generosity a strong testimony that Christ, and not possessions, is their treasure?
Immediately...you can see the “hole” in this false gospel...the focus...off of Christ and His glory and His Kingdom...and all the focus on me and what I can get and do for me. How can I get rich beyond my wildest dreams? Oh...I see..if I send in a seed offering of $1000 I will receive this specially anointed hanky and I can use it to wipe my tears away while waiting for my ship to come in...How cruel is that? How maligned can the real gospel possibly be? How both sad and unfortunate is it that the ones these wolves prey on are the “least of these”? We are under a mandate from God to present the true saving...redeeming...hope giving...and life affirming gospel. Anything less is...well...less. Anything more is...well...sinful and we know what Jesus thinks about that, right? Uh...all false teachers and phony prophets...to the left please...just follow the other goats...move along