“And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.” -Luke 4:4.
The Christian view of prosperity ought not to be as that of the unbelieving world, but we have been redeemed from that world, and all too often many of our understandings change slowly. Jesus came in the flesh to die for our sins, and to bring reconciliation in our relationship with God. We cannot take material riches with us into eternity, and they can do nothing toward bringing us salvation.
Jesus promised that if we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, that He will provide for all our needs according to His riches in glory, which are limitless (Matthew 6:33, Philippians 4:19). He wasn't promising to make us materially rich, but was showing that His riches can cover any need that we might have.
The problems that lead to the mistaken prosperity teaching are mainly threefold; first, it is not taking the Bible as a whole, but it's isolating verses which promote that view. Second, from the verses chosen they misinterpret the nature of those riches, and look at them from a materialistic standpoint. Third, in order to promote this view, those teachers stay away from the vast testimony of other scriptures which contradict it. In a way, they are bribing others into supporting their ministry.
God is a provider of NEED, and not greed; and though there are many passages which support this, I have found there is a simple but strong testimony against the prosperity gospel throughout the book of Luke, which will be the focus here. Not all of the following scriptures will be printed out, so please follow along in reading with your King James Bible.
In Luke 1:53 Mary testifies, “He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.” The theme here is supported by numerous other scriptures.
We find the birth of Jesus in chapter 2, and the encounter with the shepherds in verses 8-20. They were the only “others” at Jesus' birth, but they neither gave or received any material riches.
John the Baptist contributes to this topic in 3:10-14; he tells the people to share with the poor, and the publicans & soldiers to be content with the money they'd earned. Did he say that the Messiah would come and make them rich?
But I think that Luke 4:5-7 is a core foundation for material wealth that few Christians ever regard; it shows that the devil is the god of this world, and riches are his to bestow! Yes, God's power supersedes his, but His provision for us is a special interaction due to our adoption through Jesus Christ, with worldly wealth being typically under the devil's administration. I've chosen to print out these verses from the temptation of Jesus;
“And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.” I added bold type to emphasize the devil's hold on wealth. It's easy to see that some of the richest people in the world are the most evil. Examine the fruit, brethren (Matthew 7:16-20)!
When Jesus was calling His first disciples, He gave them a great catch of fish; but they didn't stick around to sell them and share the profits in 5:4-11; they left all of it to follow Jesus, and He provided for them.
More strong teachings against wealth come from the beatitudes found in chapter 6, and my first mention is from 6:20. Look at the strong way this is worded, with the focus toward Jesus' disciples;
“And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.” Bold type is added to emphasize, but if v.20 is true, why would God give us worldly riches?
A little later there is a warning against riches in 6:24; “But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation.” Those that are rich here have already received their reward & comfort; they took it materially in this world! How then can they look forward to a reward in heaven if they took it here? They have loved their lives here on the earth, and will lose them, John 12:25.
We know also that the ointment poured upon Jesus in 7:37&38 was very valuable, yet the woman emptied it out because of her love for Jesus. There is a good purpose in what God provides for us; it won't be for self-pleasure in this world. Luke 8:2&3 echoes this same thought. Have you given your all for Christ, or have you held back parts for yourself?
During the parable of the sower we find where a seed of God's Word “fell among thorns” in Luke 8:14. These thorns represent cares, riches, and pleasures of this life that choke God's Word.
The instruction found in Luke 9:23&24 is a classic we see also in Matthew 16 and Mark 8. We who follow Jesus must deny ourselves many things, and die to our fleshly self-interests every day. This is quite the opposite of prosperity gospel teachings.
In Luke 10:4-7, as Jesus is sending out His disciples He tells them not to take money, and to be content with how they are provided for. There are no promises of mammon rewards; mammon means primarily money and/or material wealth.
But there is more in Luke 10, and in 10:38-42 we find Martha busy with serving; yet her sister Mary merely sat at Jesus' feet to hear His teaching. Labor is usually associated with earning money, but the Lord commended Mary for her choice instead of Martha.
In Jesus' example of prayer in 11:3 He told us to say, “Give us day by day our daily bread;” it is a request for daily provisions, which isn't the type of wealth prosperity teaching promotes.
In many ways Luke 12:15 gets to the core problem of covetousness. To covet is a sin, and the 10th commandment is not to covet anything that belongs to others and is not yours. Coveting is also considered to be idolatry, which is the 2nd commandment (see Exodus 20:3-17, Colossians 3:5).
“And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.” Then in Luke 12:16-21 Jesus shows us the futility of earthly riches, urging us not to focus on those things, but to simply trust God in v.22-32.
In Luke 14:11-14 Jesus instructs us to give without being rewarded here on earth, and in v.33 He says that in order to be His disciple we must forsake all we have.
“No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.” Bold type given for a key point.
There is a great, forthright simplicity in the phrase, “ye cannot serve God and mammon.” Jesus says we can't, it isn't possible, it would be like trying to serve 2 masters. Yet prosperity teachings claim we can do both at the same time, in direct contradiction! Just try to tell prosperity gospel teachers this truth from the Bible and they will react much like the covetous Pharisees spoken of here, with ridicule & contempt. This is from 16:13&14.
Then in Luke 16:19-31 Jesus tells us of a circumstance that involved the beggar Lazarus, and a certain rich man (unnamed) that lived in near proximity to each other, but then both died. The beggar went to be in paradise, but the rich was sent into hell; and in 16:24&25 we read that the rich man was begging for Lazarus to ease his torment, but in Abraham's response he said; “Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.” This is perfectly in keeping with what Jesus said in 6:24, as the rich man had already received his comfort on the earth; there wasn't anything left for eternity.
Going on to Luke 17:7-10, Jesus gives us an illustration with the conclusion reached in 17:10;
“So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.” Bold type added for emphasis. A Christian's reward is in heaven, and won't fade away. Our obedience here is a duty we gladly perform out of the love we have for our savior.
Jesus' instructions to “the rich young ruler” in Luke 18:18-27 was for him to sell ALL of his possessions and give them to the poor, promising him that he would then be rewarded in heaven. Afterward Jesus also mentioned twice how hard it is for the rich to enter heaven; it is impossible with men! So why would God then make us rich, and contradict Jesus' words by giving us that which would likely ruin us eternally?
We find the story of Zacchaeus at the beginning of Luke 19, and during his interaction with Jesus in v.8&9 he pledges much giving to the poor; after which the Lord declares Zacchaeus to be saved! Yet another example of how giving, not receiving, is an evident token of a regenerated life.
Many of us are familiar with the “widow's mites” story found in Luke 21:1-4, printed here;
“And he looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury. And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites. And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all: For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had.” Once again we see Jesus commending the poor, and marginalizing wealth. If this comparison reflects God's sentiments, why would He be seeking to make His followers rich? Woe unto us, if our affections are with the wealth of the world!
Yet the simple truth is that as we put God's priorities first in our lives, He has promised to provide all of our needs. He wants us to be content, and at peace. Jesus' disciples lived in daily reliance upon Him and saw His promises fulfilled, as we see reflected upon just before Jesus' death on the cross;
“And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing.” -Luke 22:35.
As the Lord has said, we need EVERY WORD OF GOD in our lives with Him. We'll seek to understand scripture in light of other scriptures, and in the context of the passages given to us. We use scripture to explain scripture, and dare not add to the Word of God (Proverbs 30:5,6).
The Bible prophecies that the time will come when people won't listen to sound doctrine. They will provide for themselves many teachers who support their lusts, and make them feel good about themselves; the “prosperity gospel” certainly fits this description found in 2 Timothy 4:2-4. But Jesus' simple and straightforward address of the issue leaves no room for the prosperity debate, saying;
“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” -Matthew 6:24. The bold type & underlining were added for emphasis.
See also Psalm 73:12, Proverbs 15:27, Matthew 6:19-24, Acts 2:44, 5:1-10, 8:20, Philippians 4:11-13,19, 1 Timothy 6:6-11, James 2:5, Revelation 3:15-17.
Here is a link to the YouTube video that I did on this subject titled Mission Impossible: The Prosperity Gospel.
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