I knew about Joel Osteen. I've never heard him give a clear Gospel ever. I was surprised about Joyce Meyer. I did not know or understand her teachings were SO off the mark until I really listened - and then I found that I wasn't the only one that noticed.
Tell me something, all you folks that are believers in the "Prosperity Gospel:"
Why did Jesus tell us that the poor would always be with us?
Why did the writer of the book of Hebrews tell us that not all Christians would be prosperous and happy in Heb 11:32-40? In fact it tells us that some were poorly clothed, some were destitute, some lived in caves and holes in the ground. It says that they did NOT receive the promise (for a very special reason that is mentioned in verse 40, and I'm going to be mean and make you open your Bibles to read it).
Why, if you can leverage money out of God by giving it all away so that God is forced to give you more back, is that not working on most of the planet?
And why isn't that "prosperity gospel" making people in Africa rich, or healing them of dread diseases like AIDS?
I'll tell you why - that message isn't in the Scriptures. Verses that can be distorted appear there, but if you read them IN CONTEXT, that isn't what they say.
I'll point this out too - 11 of 12 Apostles of the early church died martyr's deaths. If God wanted us all to be rich, why did they die horrible and torturous deaths in some cases? Because, unlike the old Coca-Cola commercial, things do not always go better with Jesus!
Don't get me wrong. There are Christians that are rich, and there needs to be - that's how missionary endeavours are funded sometimes. None of these rich Christians mind spending their money either. And I know a couple, and they aren't living in million-dollar homes.
Read the article. And pray about to whom and to what you are listening. I did. Now I'm sad for them. But it won't change the fact that I won't be participating in their ministries at any level.
Gerry gave his life to Jesus Christ in June of 1985 through the witness of a man who was a member of the Charismatic movement. He first attended a Pentacostal church in his hometown during his final year of high school (1985-1986). After that, he went to university and studied Biology (Entomology/Ecology), graduating with an Honours degree in 1992. During this time, he attended a non-denominational gathering that was much in form like a Brethren assembly, leaving that place in 2004. In 2005, he and his young family began attending a local Baptist church in the city where he lives today. He serves there as the chair of the Christian Education, Missions, and Outreach commission, the coordinator for the Deacons-at-Large, and as the Deacon of the Pastor of the congregation.
His love of the Scriptures began the very night he became a Christian, and has continued to the present day. It is his desire that everyone that comes accross this site would become a careful reader of the Scriptures, even if they disagree with his own opinions about what they say, because he believes that the testimony to Jesus is the spirit of prophecy – and that the main goal of all Christians everywhere should be to follow Jesus to the best of their ability, with a spirit of devotion to the Lord, not just commitment to doctrinal positions. To this end, he has self-published an eBook titled “Practical Discipleship,” available on Amazon.com for the Kindle reader.
1 thought on “This was really hard to accept for me…”
I am so glad you wrote this–I can’t judge intent or anyone’s soul. No-one is perfect. Yet these two teachers are in fact false teachers in my view. This extends to some preachers that are “faith healers”. God does occasionally heal through miracles. Example: In a book by Christian author and head of Joni and Friends, Joni Eareckson Tada exposed the false teaching by Katherine Kuhlman, including faked healing on her TV broadcasts. There are so many others that posture as evangelical Christianity but are false teachers and give Christianity a bad name. They also disillusion Christians who trust them. When you post the truth regarding some of these false teachers you run the risk of offending their followers. Yet we cannot avoid doing because of the harm they do to fellow believers and to others.
I am so glad you wrote this–I can’t judge intent or anyone’s soul. No-one is perfect. Yet these two teachers are in fact false teachers in my view. This extends to some preachers that are “faith healers”. God does occasionally heal through miracles. Example: In a book by Christian author and head of Joni and Friends, Joni Eareckson Tada exposed the false teaching by Katherine Kuhlman, including faked healing on her TV broadcasts. There are so many others that posture as evangelical Christianity but are false teachers and give Christianity a bad name. They also disillusion Christians who trust them. When you post the truth regarding some of these false teachers you run the risk of offending their followers. Yet we cannot avoid doing because of the harm they do to fellow believers and to others.
Thank you Gerri!